Round Nine
Left (Win)
女郎花いづれの秋かみえざりし野原の霧に立ちなかくれそ
| ominaeshi izure no aki ka miezarishi nohara no kiri ni tachi na kakure so | O, maidenflower, In which autumn is it, that You have remained unseen? In the mists upon the meadow Stand and don’t hide yourself! |
Kataoka Shrine Priest Kamo no Masahira
17
Right
心から夜のまの露にしほたれてあさじめりする女郎花かな
| kokoro kara yo no ma no tsuyu ni shiotarete asajimerisuru ominaeshi kana | Her heart Throughout the night with dewdrops Drenches her, Dripping with morning tears is The maidenflower! |
Fujiwara no Koreyuki, Supernumerary Junior Assistant Minster of the Sovereign’s Household
18
The Left is extremely absorbingly composed. As for the Right, though, I wonder about the use of being ‘drenched with dewdrops’—while it does put me in mind of fisherfolk at Ise, because it fails to indicate anything in the conception of the topic, it should lose, I think.
Left
あかずしてわかれにしかばあまのがはこひしきせのみおもほゆるかな
| akazushite wakarenishikaba ama no gawa koishiki se nomi omohoyuru kana | Unsatisfied Have they parted, so At the River of Heaven’s Rapids, their loving meeting alone Does fill their thoughts! |
3
Right (Win)
たなばたのまれにあふよのしののめのみえぬばかりぞきりはふらまし
| tanabata no mare ni au yo no shinonome no mienu bakari zo kiri wa furamashi | The Weaver Maid Has but a rare night’s meeting, so At the edge of dawn That it simply not be seen She wishes for the fog to fall. |
4
Marlberry
Left
あさごとにきりはふれどもあしひきのやまたち花はいろもかはらず
| asa goto ni kiri wa furedomo ashihiki no yamatachibana wa iro mo kawarazu | With every morning The mist rolls down, yet on The leg-wearying Mountains, the marlberry’s Hues remain unchanged. |
13
Right
みねだにやすみうくならんあしひきのやまたち花のみやまゐをせる
| mine dani ya sumi’ukunaran ashihiki no yamatachibana no miyamai o seru | Does even the peak Seem so hard to dwell upon? The leg-wearying Mountain marlberry has Turned the hidden spring a darker hue. |
14
The Beginning of Autumn
Left (Win—in a certain book Tie)
しぐれにもあめにもあらぬはつぎりのたつにもそらはさしくもりけり
| shigure ni mo ame ni mo aranu hatsugiri no tatsu ni mo sora wa sashikumorikeri | Neither a shower Nor rain, The first mists Simply rise into the skies And cover all with cloud. |
11
Right
としごとにあふとはすれどたなばたのぬるよのかずぞすくなかりける
| toshi goto ni au to suredo tanabata no nuru yo no kazu zo sukunakarikeru | Every year She meets him, yet The Weaver Maid’s Nights of passion Are few indeed. |
Mitsune
12
A poem on Mount Kagu by Kamo no Taruhito.
天之芳来山 霞立 春尓至婆 松風尓 池浪立而 櫻花 木乃晩茂尓 奥邊波 鴨妻喚 邊津方尓 味村左和伎 百礒城之 大宮人乃 退出而 遊船尓波 梶棹毛 無而不樂毛 己具人奈四二
天降りつく 天の香具山 霞立つ 春に至れば 松風に 池波立ちて 桜花 木の暗茂に 沖辺には 鴨妻呼ばひ 辺つ辺に あぢ群騒き ももしきの 大宮人の 退り出て 遊ぶ船には 楫棹も なくて寂しも 漕ぐ人なしに
| amorituku ame no kaguyama kiri tatu paru ni itareba matukaze ni ikenami tatite sakurabana ko no kuresige ni okipe ni pa kamo tuma yobapi petupe ni adi murasawagi momosiki no opomiyabito no makaridete asobu pune ni pa kadisawo mo nakute sabusi mo kogu pito nasi ni | Descended from heaven is Sacred Mount Kagu where Mists arise When the spring does come, The wind through the pines Raises waves from pond waters, and Cherry blossom’s Profusion shades the trees, while Out in the offing, Ducks call for a mate and On the shore Teals flock noisily; Hundredfold, The palace folk were wont to Travel out On pleasure boats, but Oars and poles Are there none—so sad— For there’s not a soul to row them… |
をみなへしあきののをわけをりつればやどあれぬとてまつむしぞなく
| ominaeshi aki no no o wake oritsureba yado arenu tote matsumushi zo naku | O, maidenflower, Through the autumn meadows did I press To pick you, so My home has gone to ruin where The pine crickets sing. |
Yasuki
35
むしのねになきまどはせるをみなへしをればたもとにきりのこりゐる
| mushi no ne ni naki madowaseru ominaeshi oreba tamoto ni kiri nokori’iru | The insects’ cries With her sobs are confused, that Maidenflower, I pluck her, and within my sleeve Traces of the mists do linger. |
Amane
36
Left
あきごとにさきはくれどもをみなへしけふをまつとのなにこそありけれ
| aki goto ni saki wa kuredomo ominaeshi kyō o matsu to no na ni koso arikere | Every single autumn Does her time to bloom arrive, yet This maidenflower Has been waiting for this day Or so the rumour goes! |
5[1]
Right
さやかにもけさはみえずやをみなへしきりのまがきにたちかくれつつ
| sayaka ni mo kesa wa miezu ya ominaeshi kiri no magaki ni tachikakuretsutsu | Clearly This morning I cannot glimpse That maidenflower In the mists along the brushwood fence Ever does she hide herself away. |
6[2]
[1] Shinsen man’yōshū 518
[2] Shinsen man’yōshū 540
Autumn
Left
秋の夜の有明にみれど久堅の月のかつらはうつろはぬかな
| aki no yo no ariake ni miredo hisakata no tsuki no katsura wa utsurouwanu kana | An autumn night’s Dawn I see, yet The eternal Moon’s silver trees Show no sign of fading! |
13
秋萩の花咲く比の白露は下ばのためとわきて置くべし
| aki hagi no hana saku koro no shiratsuyu wa shitaba no tame to wakite okubeshi | In autumn, the bush clover Flowers bloom—just then Silver dewdrops For the under-leaves Do fall, marking every one. |
14
秋風はいなばもそよとふきつめりかりみる程と成りやしぬらん
| akikaze wa inaba mo soyo to fukitsumeri kari miru hodo to nari ya shinuran | The autumn breeze Seems to rustle the rice stalks As it blows; Seeing if ‘tis time to reap them— Is that what it is, I wonder? |
15
Right
銀河とわたる舟は花薄ほにいづるほどぞかげもみゆべき
| ama no kawa towataru fune wa hanasusuki ho ni izuru hodo zo kage mo miyubeki | Across the River of Heaven A boat goes ferrying: When the silver grass Ears burst into bloom, Can its shape be seen. |
16
女郎花さがの花をば色ながら秋をさかりといはれずもがな
| ominaeshi saga no hana oba iro nagara aki o sakari to iwarezu mogana | Maidenflowers: Blossoms from Saga Reveal their hues, and In autumn are most fine—that Goes without saying! |
17
小男鹿の朝たつ霧にうりふ山嶺の梢は色こかりけり
| saoshika no asa tatsu kiri ni urifuyama mine no kozue wa iro kokarikeri | Stags Within the rising morning mist on Urifu Moutain, where The treetops on the peak Have taken darker hues. |
18
