Tag Archives: shimo

Tsurayuki uta’awase 12

The Beginning of Winter

Left

ほどもなく冬は来にけり神無月秋はまだきもみえなかくを

hodo mo naku
fuyu wa kinikeri
kaminazuki
aki wa madaki mo
mienakaku o
Before I knew it
Winter has arrived!
In the Godless Month
Autumn has only just
Vanished from view…

23

Right

神無月たてるをみれば白露のむすぼほれたる霜おきにけり

kaminazuki
tateru o mireba
shiratsuyu no
musubōretaru
shimo okinikeri
When, the Godless Month’s
Arrival I see,
Silver dewdrops
Have drenched
The fallen frost.

24

Naidaijin-ke uta’awase 24

Round Twelve

Left

霜枯に移ひ残る村菊はみる朝ごとにめづらしきかな

shimogare ni
utsuroinokoru
muragiku wa
miru asa goto ni
mezurashiki kana
Burned by frost,
Faded and lingering
A cluster of chrysanthemums
When I see them every morn
Strikes me afresh!

Lord Toshitaka
47

Right (Both Judges – Win)

置くしものなからましかば菊のはな移ふ色をけふみましやは

oku shimo no
nakaramashikaba
kiku no hana
utsurou iro o
kyō mimashi ya wa
Fallen frost
Were there none, then
Chrysanthemum blooms
Faded hues
I would not see today…

Lord Tamezane
48

Toshiyori states: the first poem has nothing remarkable about it, apart from the undesirable use of ‘clustered chrysanthemums’. The second poem’s sense could be that when the frost has fallen, the chrysanthemum won’t display faded hues, but it is a mistake to link frost fall and being able to see them. However, if we interpret is as meaning it has fallen, so we can then view them for a long time, well, I can understand that, and will make it the winner.

Mototoshi states: this poem has no faults, but it does not appear to be a poem suited to a poetry match—it’s just rather dull. The poem of the Right, too, lacks anything worth pointing out and just says that the poet wants to gaze upon faded hues today—this seems a bit cliched, but I’d say it’s superior.

Naidaijin-ke uta’awase 22

Round Ten

Left

植ゑしその心も置かぬ白菊はあだなる霜に移ひにけり

ueshi sono
kokoro mo okanu
shiragiku wa
adanaru shimo ni
utsuroinikeri
I planted them, yet
Unconcerned are
The white chrysanthemums,
For with the faithless frost
Have they faded.

Lord Munekuni
43

Right (Both Judges – Win)

菊のはな夜のまに色やかはれると霜を払ひて今朝みつるかな

kiku no hana
yo no ma ni iro ya
kawareru to
shimo o haraite
kesa mitsuru kana
The chrysanthemum blooms
Within the space of but one night their hue
Will change, I thought, so
Brushing away the frost
Will I gaze on them this morn!

Lord Kanemasa

44

Toshiyori states: the first poem uses ‘unconcerned’, doesn’t it. The second poem’s sequencing is undesirable, yet ‘brushing away the frost’ sounds like that really is the case. It seems superior.

Mototoshi states: one has to ask what on earth a chrysanthemum might be concerned about! As for the Right, ‘Within the space of but one night their hue’ is vague, I think, but ‘brushing away the frost and gazing’ is certainly charming—it is still lodged within my aged heart.

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Round Eight

Left (T – Win; M – Tie)

冬枯にうつろひ残る白菊はうは葉に置ける霜かとぞみる

fuyugare ni
utsuroi nokoru
shiragiku wa
uwaba ni okeru
shimo ka to zo miru
Sere in winter,
Faded and lingering
A white chrysanthemum as,
Fallen upon its upper leaves,
Frost does appear, perhaps?

Lord Morikata
39

Right

露じもの暁置きのあさごとに移ひまさるしらぎくの花

tsuyujimo no
akatsuki oki no
asa goto ni
utsuroi masaru
shiragiku no hana
Frosty dewdrops
With the dawn fall—arising
Every morning
Fading fairer become
The white chrysanthemum blooms.

Lord Michitsune
40

Toshiyori states: I have the feeling that I have never heard the expression ‘sere in winter’, and I certainly have no recollection of it being in the Collection of a Myriad Leaves. The poem of the Right is smooth and extremely charming; I’m very familiar with the expression ‘dew fallen in the morning when I arise’, and here there seems to be some reason for it, doesn’t there! Still, the first poem is better.

Mototoshi states: the expression ‘faded and lingering’ is difficult to distinguish. In addition, saying ‘Fallen upon [the flower’s] upper leaves, / Frost’ is a severe misjudgment. The poem of the Right has the tautology ‘with the dawn fall’ and then ‘every morning’. Clearly neither of these appears to win or lose, so I make this a tie.

Naidaijin-ke uta’awase 17

Round Five

Left (T – Tie; M – Win)

秋はてて霜枯れぬれどきくの花残れる色は深くみえけり

aki hatete
shimogarenuredo
kiku no hana
nokoreru iro wa
fukaku miekeri
With the end of autumn
Burned by frost they are, yet
The chrysanthemum blooms’
Lingering hues
Appear all the deeper.

Lady Shinano
33

Right

白ぎくも移ひにけりうき人のこころばかりとなにおもひけむ

shiragiku mo
utsuroinikeri
ukibito no
kokoro bakari to
nani omoikemu
This white chrysanthemum, too
Has faded; ‘tis simply as
My cruel lady’s
Heart—
I wonder why would I think so?

A Court Lady
34

Toshiyori states: the first poem has ‘With the end of autumn / Burned by frost they are’ and this gives the impression that there is nothing remaining. But saying that autumn has ended, yet one can still see the chrysanthemums, so, in the end, ‘hues appear all the deeper’ means there is a mismatch between the beginning and end of the poem. As for the second poem, it’s a commonplace style of composition to say that you despise someone who has forgotten you, but this is certainly a love poem, and it does not resemble a chrysanthemum one. Nevertheless, there’s nothing particular to point out in this poem and it has some vague parts, so I say this is a tie.

Mototoshi states: the phrase ‘Lingering hues / Appears all the deeper’ doesn’t say what these look like or how they appear. In addition, the poem’s style is not that superlative, and its diction seems halting. With that being said, however, the poem of the Right does not resemble one regretting the chrysanthemums in the slightest. It expresses the feelings of despite between a man and woman who have parted and become distant from each other using the metaphor of the chrysanthemum, and thus the conception of the topic lacks depth, so again the Left has to win.