Tag Archives: scarlet leaves

Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta’awase 13

Round One

Deer

Left (Tie)

さをしかも秋をかなしとおもへばやときしも声をたてて鳴くらん

saoshika mo
aki o kanashi to
omoeba ya
toki shimo koe o
tatete nakuran
Does the stag, too,
Autumn’s sadness
Feel?
That at this time, of all, his cry
Should ring out so…

Lord Shige’ie
25

Right

嶺になく鹿の音ちかくきこゆなり紅葉吹きおろす夜はのあらしに

mine ni naku
shika no ne chikaku
kikoyu nari
momiji fuki’orosu
yowa no arashi ni
Crying upon the peak
The stag’s bell close by
Sounds, carried
With blown down scarlet leaves
On the midnight storm…

Lord Tsunemori
26

The Left truly sounds as if it grasps the conception with its use of ‘of all, his cry’. The Right, too, is poetic with ‘blown down scarlet leaves’. There may be some who say that one should not compose using a subsidiary topic, yet in the poetry match held in Tentoku[i] and the poetry match held by Emperor Kazan[ii], this was judged not to be a fault.


[i] This was the Dairi uta’awase Tentoku yo-nen 内裏歌合 天徳四年 (‘Palace Poetry Match Tentoku 4’) held by Emperor Murakami on the 30th day of the Third Month, Tentoku 4 [28.4.960].

[ii] This was the Dairi uta’awase Kanna gan-nen 内裏歌合 寛和元年 (‘Palace Poetry Match Kanna 1’) held by Emperor Kazan the 10th day of the Eighth Month, Kanna 1 [28.8.985].

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 21

Round Twenty-One

Left (Win)

小倉山木木のもみぢのくれなゐはみねの嵐のおろすなりけり

ogurayama
kigi no momiji no
kurenai wa
mine no arashi no
orosu narikeri
On gloomy Mount Ogura
The leaves upon the trees,
So scarlet,
By the storm wind from the peak
Are tossed down.

Lord Kiyosuke
41

Right

ふかくあさきもみぢばながるあすか河ふちせは色にあらはれにけり

fukaku asaki
momijiba nagaru
asukagawa
fuchise wa iro ni
arawarenikeri
Across both depths and shallows
Flow the scarlet leaves
On the Asuka river,
Among the rapids and the pools
Have they appeared.

Shun’e
42

Neither of these is bad. The Right violates the five syllable pattern; the Left has no faults.

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 20

Round Twenty

Scarlet Leaves

Left (Tie)

秋されば暁つゆにいもが袖まきぎの山ににほふもみぢば

aki sareba
akatsuki tsuyu ni
imo ga sode
makigi no yama ni
niou momijiba
When the autumn comes,
With the dawn, the dewdrops, as
Upon a sweet girl’s sleeves,
At Makigi Mountain
Bring a lustre to the scarlet leaves…

Masashige
39

Right

下染はおなじみどりにみし程も紅葉の色のうすくこきかな

shitazome wa
onaji midori ni
mishi hodo mo
momiji no iro no
usuku koki kana
First dyed
All with green,
When I gazed upon them, now
The scarlet leaves’ hues are
Pale and vibrant both!

Kūnin
40

The Left has a lofty tone, yet the Right is still smooth. Thus, I make this a tie.

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 10

Round Ten

Left (Win)

よひのまぞ人をばまちしほととぎすあくるまでこそねられざりけれ

yoi no ma zo
hito oba machishi
hototogisu
akuru made koso
nerarezarikere
All night long
Did I await him once, but
T’is the cuckoo:
Even more until the dawn, that
Keeps me from my sleep!

Shun’e
19

Right

花はすぎ紅葉はまだき夏山にをりえてもなく時鳥かな

hana wa sugi
momiji wa madaki
natsuyama ni
oriete mo naku
hototogisu kana
The blossoms are past, and
Scarlet leaves have yet to come;
In the summer mountains
How lively sings
The cuckoo!

Kenshō
20

The Left’s poem certainly commands one’s interest.

KKS VII: 362

A poem written on a folding screen with paintings of the four seasons, created as a backdrop for the fortieth birthday celebrations of Lord Fujiwara, Major Captain of the Right, by the Principal Handmaid – Autumn.

秋くれど色もかはらぬときは山よそのもみぢを風ぞかしける

aki kuredo
iro mo kaFaranu
tokiFayama
yoso no momidi wo
kaze zo kasikeru
Autumn has come, yet
To the never changing hues on
Evergreen Mountain
Distant scarlet leaves
The wind has lent!

Sakanoe no Korenori

A kuzushiji version of the poem's text.
Created with Soan.

SKKS V: 536

When composing a fifty-poem sequence for Cloistered Prince Shukaku.

紅葉ばのいろにまかせてときは木も風にうつろふ秋の山かな

momijiba no
iro ni makasete
tokiwagi mo
kaze ni utsurou
aki no yama kana
To the scarlet leaves’
Hues entrusting their fate,
The evergreens, too,
Shift with the wind
In the autumn mountains!

Kintsugu, Supernumerary Master of the Crown Prince’s Household Office

A kuzushiji version of the poem's text.
Created with Soan.

SZS V: 373

Composed on the conception of falling leaves.

たつた山ふもとの里はとほけれどあらしのつてにもみぢをぞみる

tatutayama
Fumoto no sato Fa
toFokeredo
arasi no tute ni
momidi wo zo miru
Tatsuta Mountain
From this estate in the foothills
Lies far away, yet
The storm wind’s actions mean
I see scarlet leaves!

Hōribe no Narinaka

A kuzushiji version of the poem's text.
Created with Soan.