Composed on the conception of celebration.
君が代はあまのかご山いづる日のてらむかぎりはつきじとぞ思ふ
| kimi ga yo wa ama no kagoyama izuru hi no teramu kagiri wa tsukiji to zo omou | My Lord’s reign: until Above heavenly Mount Kago The rising sun’s Shining is bound Shall never end, I feel! |
The Former Ōmiya Chancellor
Round Four
Left (Win)
あけぬるか霞の衣たちかへり猶君が代の春をまつかな
| akenuru ka kasumi no koromo tachikaeri nao kimi ga yo no haru o matsu kana | Is it the breaking dawn that Hazy raiment Casts back? Ever for my Lord’s reign’s Springtime do I pine! |
Novice Dōchin
7
Right
天の戸のあけゆく空はうれしきを猶はれやらず立つ霞かな
| ama no to no akeyuku sora wa ureshiki o nao hareyarazu tatsu kasumi kana | That Heaven’s door Opens to brighten the sky— What joy, but Still, never clearing is The rising haze! |
Dharma Master Nyogan
8
The Left poem’s links with celebration are certainly not something praiseworthy, but I am unable to accept the Right’s ‘joy’. Thus, the Left wins.
A poem by Kamō, the dancing girl.
雪嶋 巌尓殖有 奈泥之故波 千世尓開奴可 君之挿頭
ゆきのしま いはほにうゑたる なでしこは ちよにさかぬか きみがかざしに
| yuki no sima ipapo ni uwetaru nadesiko pa tiyo ni sakanu ka kimi ga kazasi ni | Snow lies heavy on the garden’s Rocks where grow The pinks: O, won’t you bloom a thousand years? That my Lord may wear you in his hair… |
Flames.
君がもるゑじのたくひのひるはたえよるはもえつつ物をこそ思へ
| kimi ga moru wezi no taku Fi no Firu wa tae yoru Fa moetsutsu mono o koso omoFe | My lord stands guard at the Palace, A conscript kindling flames which Dwindle with the daytime, and Ever burn at night: As do I, for love of him. |
On the conception of blossom having a pleasing hue, when various people were in attendance on His Majesty, during the reign of former emperor Nijō.
君が代にあへるはたれもうれしきを花はいろにもいでにけるかな
| kimi ga yo ni aeru wa tare mo ureshiki o hana wa iro ni mo idenikeru kana | My Lord’s reign Has everyone greeted With joy, and The blossom in such hues Has appeared! |
Minister of Justice Norikane
On blossom.
鶯之 徃来垣根乃 宇能花之 猒事有哉 君之不来座
うぐひすのかよふかきねのうのはなのうきことあれやきみがきまさぬ
| ugupisu no kayopu kakine no unopana no uki koto are ya kimi ga kimasanu | The warbler Flits around my brushwood fence’s Deutzia blooms— Is there some sad event which Stops my Lord from coming? |
Anonymous
A poem inscribed in cursive script on a lacquerware box from when he was absorbed in compiling the Collection of a Thousand Years.
和歌の浦にちぢのたまもをかきつめて万世までも君がみんため
| waka no ura ni chiji no tamamo o kakitsumete yorozuyo made mo kimi ga min tame | In the Bay of Waka Countless gemweeds Have I raked together that For ten thousand generations My Lord may gaze upon them! |
Master of the Dowager Empress’ Household Office Toshinari
Composed for the Palace Poetry Match in Shōryaku 2 [1078].
君が世はつきじとぞおもふかみかぜやみもすそ川のすまむかぎりは
| kimi ga yo wa tsukiji to zo omou kamikaze ya mimosusogawa no sumamu kagiri wa | My Lord’s reign Shall never end, I feel! While beneath the divine winds The Mimosuso River[i] Is clear! |
Minister of Justice Tsunenobu
[i] The Mimosuso River (mimosugawa 御裳濯川) is the name given to the Isuzu River (isuzugawa 五十鈴川) as it flows past the Grand Shrine of Ise, which is dedicated to the ancestral deity of the imperial house, Amaterasu ōmikami 天照大神.
