Composed while gazing at some sweet-flags, which had been planted by her child who had died young.
あやめぐさたれしのべとかうゑおきてよもぎがもとのつゆと消えけん
| ayamegusa tare shinobe to ka ue’okite yomogi ga moto no tsuyu to kieken | These sweet-flags, O, who might recall, I wonder? For you planted them And, among the tangled mugwort roots Seemed to vanish as the dew… |
Kayanoin no Yūshide
Mugwort in the Grounds[i]
Left
よろづよもときはならなんけふのためいはひておほすそののよもぎは
| yorozuyo mo tokiwa naranan kyō no tame iwaite ōsu sono no yomogi wa | For ten thousand ages more Evergreen, I would you be! For today’s Celebration, lushly growing Mugwort in the grounds… |
3
Right
そののうちにおふるよもぎのえだしげみすゑさかゆべくみゆるきみかな
| sono no uchi ni ouru yomogi no eda shigemi sue sakayubeku miyuru kimi kana | Within the grounds A’growing, the mugwort’s Branches are lush To the very end they flourish, As do you appear to, my Lord! |
4
In ancient times, folk arose on this day with the dawn together with the birds and, taking those branches of mugwort from within their grounds that resembled people, dried them in the shade and made medicinal draughts—I wonder, were both Left and Right unaware of this? There is not even a dewdrop’s worth of diction in accordance with the topic, so I must make this round a tie.
かたかたにとるかたもなきよもぎぐさひとかずならぬここちこそすれ
| katakata ni toru kata mo naki yomogigusa hito kazu naranu kokochi koso sure | Both sides say Nothing noteworthy about Mugwort plants,so Neither is worth much, I feel! |
Judge 2
[i] Sono no naka no yomogi 園中蓬
Round Ten
Left
秋はぎの下葉の露にあらねども消えぬばかりぞ人は恋しき
| akihagi no shitaba no tsuyu ni aranedomo kienu bakari zo hito wa koishiki | Upon the autumn bush clover’s Underleaves a dewdrop I am not, yet Simply will I fade away So much do I love him! |
Taiyu no Suke
19
Right
わすられて年ふる里の浅茅生に誰がためしける萩の錦ぞ
| wasurarete toshi furu sato no asajū ni ta ga tame shikeru hagi no nishiki zo | All forgotten Through the passing years, at my home Among the tangled mugwort, For whose sake is spread The bush clover’s brocade? |
The Daughter of His Excellency, the Head
20
I feel that the poem of the Left is conspicuously poetic, saying ‘Simply will I fade away / So much do I love him!’ while the poem of the Right’s ‘Through the passing years, at my home / Among the tangled mugwort, / For whose sake is spread / The bush clover’s brocade?’ makes me want to ask the bush clover the same question! The pull my heart in more than one direction, so here, too, I feel it’s not possible to decide on a winner or loser.
なほたのめしめぢがはらのさせもぐさ我がよの中にあらむかぎりは
| nao tanome shimeji ga hara no sasemogusa wa ga yo no naka ni aran kagiri wa | Yet trust in me! For while On Shimeji plain The mugwort smoulders I, within this mundane world Will ever be… |
This poem is said to have been recited by the Kiyomizu Kannon.
I had asked that Master of Discipline Kōkaku be accorded the honour of the role of reader at the ceremony for the recitation of the Vimalakīrti nirdeśa Sutra, and when he was constantly passed over, had complained to the Hosshōji Lay Priest and former Palace Minister; even though he mentioned ‘Shimeji plain’, the following year Kōkaku was once more passed over, so I composed this and sent it to him.
契りおきしさせもが露をいのちにてあはれことしの秋もいぬめり
| tigiri okisi sasemo ga tuyu wo inoti nite aFare kotosi no aki mo inumeri | A promise dropped, as Dewfall on the mugwort— Such is life, so Miserable, this year’s Autumn must arrive. |
Fujiwara no Mototoshi
Left (Win)
あだなりと人やみるらん年毎にとまらぬあきををしむこころは
| ada nari to hito ya miruran toshigoto ni tomaranu aki o oshimu kokoro wa | Deceitful does it Appear to her? Every single year When autumn lingers not, that My heart is filled with regret… |
3
Right
よそ人も秋はをしきを浅茅生のむべもこゑごゑ鹿やなくらん
| yosobito mo aki wa oshiki o asajū no mube mo koegoe shika ya nakuran | Does even a stranger Feel regret in autumn, when From among the cogon grass, Indeed, the belling of The stags seems to sound? |
4
あきかぜにすむよもぎふのかれゆけばこゑのことごとむしぞなくなる
| akikaze ni sumu yomogyū no kareyukeba koe no kotogoto mushi zo nakunaru | With the autumn wind, Their home, the mugwort, Begins to wither, so Every single Insect cries out. |
45
みるごとにあきにもあるかたつたひめもみぢそむとや山はきるらん[1]
| miru goto ni aki ni mo aru ka tatsutahime momiji somu to ya yama wa kiruran | Each time I see her Is it autumn? Princess Tatsuta, I wonder, are she dying scarlet leaves, So that she may wear the mountains? |
46
[1] This poem occurs in Kokin rokujō (648); and also in Tomonori-shū (27), suggesting that it may be by Ki no Tomonori.
