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.
Round Eleven
Left (Both Judges – Tie)
こけのむす岩ねに残る八重ぎくはや千代さくとも君ぞみるべき
| koke no musu iwane ni nokoru yaegiku wa yachiyo saku tomo kimi zo mirubeki | Choked with moss are The crags where linger Eightfold chrysanthemums: E’en were they eight thousand ages a’bloom My Lord would have beheld them, no doubt! |
Lady Shinano
45
Right
霜がれに我ひとりとや白菊の色をかへても人にみすらん
| shimogare ni ware hitori to ya shiragiku no iro o kaetemo hito ni misuran | ‘Burned by frost ‘Tis me alone!’ thinks A white chrysanthemum, Changing hue To show to folk, for sure. |
Lord Tokimasa
46
Toshiyori states: I wonder if there is a poem as precedent for chrysanthemums lingering beneath moss-covered crags? If not, it’s a very crude expression. The ending of the poem is antiquated, too. As for the second poem ‘“Tis me alone!” thinks’ does not sound satisfactory. The assembled company settled the matter of the final ‘folk’, so I must make this a tie.
Mototoshi states: whether they are placed by a brushwood fence, or at the base of a crag, chrysanthemums feel like pines. As for the Right, having a chrysanthemum seem to think ‘‘tis me alone’ is speculative—had it been something like ‘this bloom opens’ then it would have been the poet’s thoughts. Neither of these is of quality to win or lose, so I make them a tie.
Round Seven
Left (M – Win)
霜がれの菊なかりせばいとどしく冬の籬やさびしからまし
| shimogare no kiku nakariseba itodoshiku fuyu no magaki ya sabishikaramashi | Were frost-burned Chrysanthemums there to be none, then How much more My brushwood fence in winter Lonely would be… |
Lord Sadanobu
37
Right (T – Win)
しも枯るるはじめをみずは白ぎくの移ふ色を惜まざらまし
| shimogaruru hajime o mizu wa shiragiku no utsurou iro o osamazaramashi | Frost-burns First sign I see not, so The white chrysanthemum’s Fading hues Cause me no regret at all… |
Lord Masamitsu
38
Toshiyori states: the assembled company asked how it can be possible that a brushwood fence in winter would not feel lonely after the chrysanthemums have withered, even granting that they are still there, and this is, of course, the case. In the depths of winter, one would not catch sight of any chrysanthemums. Although, it does sound as if you could could compose in this way, depending upon how early in the season it was. The second poem is of about the same quality, but I feel that I prefer it at the moment.
Mototoshi states: both poems are of the same quality, but ‘My brushwood fence in winter / Lonely would be’ really does make me realise that’s how it is.
ももしきにをしみとめたるきくのはないくたびおかむ霜にうつらん
| momoshiki ni oshimi tometaru kiku no hana iku tabi okamu shimo ni utsuran | Within the hundredfold palace Regretfully lingering are Chrysanthemum blooms— How many times, I wonder, will they be struck By falling frost? |
[Ōe no] Chifuru
11
霜がれにをしみはじむるきくのはなちるまつまでにちらずもあらなん
| shimogare ni oshimi hajimuru kiku no hana chiru matsu made ni chirazu mo aranan | Burned by frost Regrets begin for The chrysanthemum blooms While waiting for them to scatter I wish that they’d not, at all… |
Susuku
12
The Chrysanthemum Match held during the Reign of the Daigo Emperor[1]
Topic
Poets
秋すぎてのこれるきくはかみな月くもをわけてぞにほふべらなる
| aki sugite nokoreru kiku wa kaminazuki kumo o wakete zo niouberanaru | Autumn passes, and Lingering chrysanthemums In the Godless Month Seem to break apart the clouds With their glow. |
His Majesty’s Composition
1
霜がれになりはてぬともきくの花をる人たれととはばこたへむ
| shimogare ni narehatenu tomo kiku no hana oru hito tare to towaba kotaemu | Completely burned by frost They may have become, yet These chrysanthemum blooms, but Who was it plucked you, Should you ask, I wonder, would they reply? |
Ōn-kazashi
2
[1] Daigo ōntoki kiku awase 醍醐御時菊合
Round Twenty-Two
Snow
Left (Win)
霜がれのまがきの中に雪ふれば菊より後の花もありけり
| shimogare no magaki no naka ni yuki fureba kiku yori nochi no hana mo arikeri | When, burned by frost, Within my lattice fence There is a fall of snow, After the chrysanthemums, There are flowers, even so. |
Suketaka
43
Right
花さけば雪かとみせて雪ふれば花かとみするみよしのの山
| hana sakeba yuki ka to misete yuki fureba hana ka to misuru miyoshino no yama | When the blossom blooms I wonder if ‘tis snow, and When the snow does fall I wonder if ‘tis blossom In the mountains of fair Yoshino. |
Kūnin
44
Both are elegant, but even so the Right should lose.
Left
霜がれの枝となわびそ白雪を花にやとひてみれどもあかず
| shimogare no eda to na wabi so shirayuki o hana ni ya toite miredomo akazu | For the frost-burned Branches, grieve not, for White snows As blossom will visit them, and The sight will never sate. |
131
Right
嵐ふく山下里にふる雪はとくむめの花咲くかとぞ見る
| arashi fuku yamashitazato ni furu yuki wa toku mume no hana saku ka to zo miru | The storm wind blows Upon the village ‘neath the mountains, where Fallen snow, Long since, had plum blossom Made seem to bloom? |
132