さか木葉のかをかぐはしみとめくればやそうぢ人ぞまとゐせりける
| sakakiba no ka wo kaguFasimi tomekureba yaso udibito zo matowiserikeru | The leaves of the sacred tree Have a scent so fair that When I searched it out, Eighty clansmen, too, Had gathered in celebration! |
Anonymous
Tag Archives: scent
Nishinomiya uta’awase 17
Asters and the Same
Round Seventeen
Left
あふことは片野ののべの蘭たれきてみよと露のおくらん
| au koto wa katano no nobe no fujibakama tare kitemiyo to tsuyu no okuran | Our meeting, so hard: In the hillside meadows grow Violet asters— Who should to come to see them Amongst the fallen dew? |
Nakafusa, Former Governor of Awaji
33
Right
色もかもよそへてぞみる蘭ねずりの衣馴れしかたみに
| iro mo ka mo yosoete zo miru fujibakama nezuri no koromo nareshi katami ni | Both scent and hue Do I imagine seeing Among the violet asters, Of his patterned robe, So familiar, a reminder they are… |
Hyōenokami
34
These poems, both Left and Right, appear to be of about the same quality, but while I am familiar with robes patterned with purple gromwell, I do wonder what it is that is patterning the robes here. Is the poet composing on asters imagining them to be gromwell? Even if that’s the case, the conception is not particularly apparent, so I have to say that the Left is better.
Entō ōn’uta’awase 21
Round Twenty-One
Left (Win)
しがらきの外山の末の郭公たが里ちかき初音なるらん
| shigaraki no toyama no sue no hototogisu ta ga sato chikaki hatsune naruran | In Shigaraki At the foothills’ end A cuckoo By whose estate Might let out his first cry? |
Takasuke
41
Right
橘のにほひを空に尋ねきて山時鳥なかぬ日ぞなき
| tachibana no nioi o sora ni tazunekite yamahototogisu nakanu hi zo naki | Orange blossom’s familiar Scent within the skies I seek out, while The mountain cuckoo Fails to sing on not a single day… |
Shimotsuke
42
The Left poem’s ‘near whose estate does it first call’ does not sound bad. The Right’s poem, too, seems to have no faults to mention, yet the Left still wins by a hair.
Daigo ōntoki kiku awase 09
いろふかくをしみぞとむるきくの花よをへてみよとしもはおかなむ
| iro fukaku oshimi zo tomuru kiku no hana yo o hete miyo to shimo wa okanamu | Their hues as deep As my lingering regrets, ‘The chrysanthemum blooms Behold through the passing night!’ For the frosts will fall. |
[Fujiwara no] Motokata
17
かをとめてをしむばかりぞきくのはなしももきえずはいろもみえじを
| ka o tomete oshimu bakari zo kiku no hana shimo mo kiezu wa iro mo mieji o | Their lingering scent I simply do regret, for from The chrysanthemum blooms The frosts will not vanish away and Their hues will fade from sight. |
[Minamoto no] Moro’akira
18
Daigo ōntoki kiku awase 04
きくのはなをりてはとしもへしものをおきながらこそ色まさりけれ
| kiku no hana orite wa toshi mo heshi mono o okinagara koso iro masarikere | Chrysanthemum blooms Picked, means the year Has passed by, but Even so, still Their hues are most fine, indeed! |
Kakesuke[1]
7
いろもかもともににほへるきくのはななにしもうちにとけてみゆらん
| iro mo ka mo tomo ni nioeru kiku no hana nani shi mo uchi ni tokete miyuran | Hue and scent, too, Both bring a glow To the chrysanthemum blooms— Somehow, secretly, Do they seem at ease. |
[Fujiwara no] Kanemochi
8
[1] Possibly Fujiwara no Kanesuke 藤原兼輔
Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 06
Round Six
Left (Win)
梅の花をりてかざせば二月の雪は衣におつるなりけり
| ume no hana orite kazaseba kisaragi no yuki wa koromo ni otsuru narikeri | When plum blossom I pluck and wear within my hair, Second Month Snows upon my robe Do fall! |
Masashige
11
Right
時ならぬ卯花ともやおもはましかきねの梅のかをらざりせば
| toki naranu u no hana tomo ya omowamashi kakine no ume no ka orazariseba | Unseasonal Deutzia blooms might I think them? Did the plum by my lattice fence Fail to scent the air… |
Atsuyori
12
The Left is not lacking in conception.
Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 05
Round Five
Left (Tie)
にほふ香はいづれの梅もかはらねど色なる花ぞわきて身にしむ
| niou ka wa izure no ume mo kawaranedo \ iro naru hana zo wakite mi ni shimu | The fragrant scent of Any plum Varies not, yet Those with scarlet hues Especially pierce my breast! |
Iemoto
9
Right
梅の花かをばたもとにしむれども色をばえこそうつさざりけれ
| ume no hana ka oba tamoto ni shimuredomo iro oba e koso utsusazarikeri | The plum blossoms’ Scent into my sleeves Has sunk, yet Their hues, of all things, Have shifted not! |
Kūnin
10
I wish I could say that the Left is superior, but that is not the case, so a tie.
Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 04
Round Four
Left (Win)
春の夜はいこそねられねねやちかき梅のにほひにおどろかれつつ
| haru no yo wa i koso nerarene neya chikaki ume no nioi ni odorokaretsutsu | On a night in springtime I cannot sleep at all, for Close by my bedchamber The scent of plum Ever wakes me from my slumber… |
Norimori
7
Right
さ夜ふかみ旅ねの床にかをらずは梅さく宿といかでしらまし
| sayo fukami tabine no toko ni ka orazu wa ume saku yado to ikade shiramashi | Deep within brief night In a traveller’s bed No scent reaches me, yet That plum blooms at this dwelling— How is it I might know? |
Kenshō
8
The Left is particularly evocative. The Right is from an old poetry match.
Shitagō-shū 23
Kinkai wakashū 34
After I had had various people compose on the scent of plum carried on the breeze.
梅がかをゆめの枕にさそひきてさむるまちける春の山風
| ume ga ka o yume no makura ni sasoikite samuru machikeru haru no yamakaze | The scent of plum To my pillow, where I lay dreaming Was beckoned— Waiting ‘til I awakened did The mountain breeze in springtime. |
