Tag Archives: sumiyoshi

Sumiyoshi-sha uta’awase kaō ni-nen 06

Round Six

Left (Tie)

すみよしのまつのむらだちかぜさえてしきつのなみにやどる月かげ

sumiyoshi no
matsu no muradachi
kaze saete
shikitsu no nami ni
yadoru tsukikage
At Sumiyoshi
The pines crowd together
In the chilly wind, as
Upon the waves at Shikitsu
Lodges moonlight.

Lord Fujiwara no Sane’ie
Supernumerary Middle Captain of the Inner Palace Guards, Right Division
Exalted Junior Third Rank[1]
11

Right

なにはえのそこにやどれる月をみてまたすみのぼるわがこころかな

naniwae no
soko ni yadoreru
tsuki o mite
mata suminoboru
wa ga kokoro kana
At Naniwa Bay,
Lodged on the bottom,
The moon fills my gaze, as
Once more, clearly soars
My heart!

Lord Fujiwara no Atsuyori
Junior Fifth Rank, Upper Grade
Without Office[2]
12

In the Left’s poem, I can say that the configuration of ‘Upon the waves at Shikitsu / Lodges moonlight’ is pleasant. In the Right’s poem, saying ‘Lodged on the bottom, / The moon fills my gaze, as / Once more, clearly soars / My heart!’ appears to show deep thought but, while it appears that ‘Naniwa Bay’ encompasses Sumiyoshi, the conception of the topic expressing ‘over the shrine’ sounds somewhat vague. Then again, the Left’s tone is more in keeping with a poem for a poetry match, but it lacks any language particularly evocative of the topic, so the round ties.


[1] Jūsan’i-gyō ukon gonchūjō Fujiwara ason Sane’ie 従三位行右近衛権中将藤原朝臣実家

[2] San’i jūgoige Fujiwara ason Atsuyori 散位従五位上藤原朝臣敦頼

Sumiyoshi-sha uta’awase kaō ni-nen 05

Round Five

Left (Win)

ゆふかくるここちこそすれすみよしのまつのこずゑをてらす月かげ

yū kakuru
kokochi koso sure
sumiyoshi no
matsu no kozue o
terasu tsukikage
All hung with sacred streamers
I feel they are—
At Sumiyoshi
The treetops of the pines
Shining in the moonlight.

Lord Fujiwara no Shigenori
Captain of the Outer Palace Guards, Left Division
Exalted Senior Third Rank[1]
9

Right

すみよしのまつのこずゑをみわたせばこよひぞかくる月のしらゆふ

sumiyoshi no
matsu no kozue o
miwataseba
koyoi zo kakuru
tsuki no shirayū
When, at Sumiyoshi
Over the treetops of the pines
I pass my gaze,
Hung are they, this midnight
With the moon’s white sacred streamers…

Lord Fujiwara no Morikata
Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade
Without Office[2]
10

Left and Right have produced poems on the moon, both with the conception of it resembling white sacred streamers hung on the treetops of the pines, while the differences between them are charming, it does not sound as if the poem of the Right has any reason for singling out ‘this midnight’, while nothing appears lacking in the beauty of the Left’s work and thus, once more, it wins.


[1] Shōsan’i-gyō sahyōe no kami Fujiwara ason Shigenori  正三位行左兵衛督藤原朝臣成範

[2] San’i jūshi’ige Fujiwara ason Morikata 散位従四位下藤原朝臣盛方

Sumiyoshi-sha uta’awase kaō ni-nen 03

Round Three

Left (Win)

すみよしのまつのゆきあひのひまよりも月さえぬればしもはおきけり

sumiyoshi no
matsu no yukiai no
hima yori mo
tsuki sae nureba
shimo wa okikeri
At Sumiyoshi,
Pine boughs entwine, and
Even from the gaps between
Moonbeams drop
Upon the fallen frost.

Grand Dharma Master Shun’e[1]
5

Right

すみよしのまつのゆきあひの月かげはくもまにいづるここちこそすれ

sumiyoshi no
matsu no yukiai no
tsukikage wa
kumoma ni izuru
kokochi koso sure
At Sumiyoshi,
Pine boughs entwine, and
The moonlight
Emerges from between the clouds—
That’s how it feels!

Lord Fujiwara no Sanekuni
Supernumerary Middle Counsellor
Captain of the Palace Guards, Left Division
Exalted Senior Third Rank[2]
6

Both Left and Right, having the same conception contemplating ‘pine boughs entwine’, appear charming. ‘Emerges from between the clouds’ truly does sound as if it captures the moment, but the Left’s use of ‘even’ in ‘even from the gaps between’ show a deep knowledge of the world of poetry,[3] and thus, again, the Left wins.


[1] Daihōshi Shun’e 大法師俊恵

[2] Shōsan’i-gyō gonchūnagon ken saemon no kami Fujiwara ason Sanekuni 正三位行権中納言兼左衛門督藤原朝臣実国

[3] Shunzei is praising Shun’e for his knowledge of earlier poems. Shun’e’s work builds on: 夜やさむき衣やうすきかたそぎのゆきあひのまより霜やおくらむ yo ya samuki / koromo ya usuki / katasogi no / yukiai no ma yori / shimo ya okuramu ‘Is it the night’s chill, or / My scanty robe: / Where the ridge poles of My shrine / Entwine, from the gaps between / Frost does seem to fall.’ This poem is said to be by the deity of Sumiyoshi (SKKS XIX: 1855). By adding in ‘even’ (mo) to the phrase he has taken from the deity’s work, Shun’e adds to it, saying that frost falls not only from the gaps in the shrine roof, but also from between the pine boughs outside. Shunzei’s judgement acknowledges the deep knowledge of prior poetry needed for this type of usage.

Sumiyoshi-sha uta’awase kaō ni-nen 02

Round Two

Left (Win)

にはびたくあたりをぬるみおくしものとけぬや月のひかりなるらむ

niwabi taku
atari o nurumi
oku shimo no
tokenu ya tsuki no
hikari naruramu
Braziers kindled shed
Warmth all around, so
That the fallen frost
Melts not, due to the moon’s
Light might be?

Lord Fujiwara no Sanefusa
Major Counsellor
Exalted Junior Second Rank[i]
3

Right

ひとすぢにあふぐこころをすみよしのそらゆく月にわけぞやらるる

hito suji ni
ōgu kokoro o
sumiyoshi no
sora yuku tsuki ni
wake zo yararuru
With my whole
Heart I worship
Sumiyoshi, for He
The moon travelling through the skies
Has dispensed!

Lord Minamoto no Yorimasa
Supernumerary Master of the Right Capital Office
Exalted Junior Fourth Rank, Upper Grade[ii]
4

The Left’s poem has a novel conception, while appearing to use familiar diction. The Right’s emotions, whereby whole-hearted faith sees the moon as provided by the deity when seeing it, also sound extremely charming, yet, still, the configuration of ‘melts not, the moon’ appears more in keeping with a poem for a poetry match, and thus the Left wins.


[i] Jūni’i-gyō gondainagon Fujiwara ason Sanefusa 従二位行権大納言藤原朝臣実房

[ii] Jūyon’i-gyō sakyō gontaifu Minamoto ason Yorimasa 従四位上行左京権大夫源朝臣頼政

Sumiyoshi-sha uta’awase kaō ni-nen 01

Round One

The Moon over the Shrine

Left (Win)   

ふりにけるまつものいはばとひてましむかしもかくやすみのえの月

furinikeru
matsu mono’iwaba
toitemashi
mukashi mo kaku ya
suminoe no tsuki
Could these ancient
Pines but speak,
I would ask them
In ancient times was it so?
The moon o’er Suminoe…

Lord Fujiwara no Sanesada
Senior Second Rank[i]
1

Right

こころなきこころもなほぞつきはつる月さへすめるすみよしのはま

kokoronaki
kokoro mo nao zo
tsukihatsuru
tsuki sae sumeru
sumiyoshi no hama
Even my insensitive
Heart is still
Quite exhausted,
So clear the moon
Above the beach at Sumiyoshi…

Lord Fujiwara no Toshinari
Master of the Dowager Empress’ Household Office
Master of the Right Capital Office
Exalted Senior Third Rank
2

The Left poem’s conception and configuration, saying ‘In ancient times was it so? / The moon o’er Suminoe’ is truly charming! While I am accustomed to hearing conceptions similar to that expressed in the initial line, I have no recollection of this exact turn of phrase and, in addition, leading with ‘Could these ancient’ and continuing with ‘Pines but speak’ is a conception which is rare, indeed. In the poem of the Right, on the moon over the beach before the shrine, I have quite exhausted my own meagre conceptions and, feel that my scanty words are not enough, I think. The Left’s poem is particularly fine, so it should win.


[i] Shōni’i Fujiwara ason Sanesada正二位藤原朝臣実定 (1139-1191):Most frequently referred to today as the Later Tokudaiji Minister of the Left (Gotokudaiji no sadaijin 後徳大寺左大臣), Sanesada had an extensive court career, culminating in appointment as Minister of the Left in 1189, a position he was to hold for only two years, before illness forced him to surrender it in the middle of 1191, a few months before his death. Sanesada skillfully negotiated the fraught political environment following the Genpei War (1180-1185) and is known to have had the trust of Minamoto no Yoritomo 源頼朝 (1147-1199), the first Kamakura shogun. He was well-known as a poet, participating in many uta’awase, including this one, and has 73 poems in imperial anthologies, beginning with Senzaishū. His most famous poem today is: Composed in the conception of hearing a cuckoo at dawn. 時鳥鳴きつるかたをながむればたゞ有明の月ぞのこれる hototogisu / nakitsuru kata o / nagamureba / tada ariake no / tsuki zo nokoreru ‘A cuckoo / Calls from yonder— / Gazing there, / Only the daybreak / Moon remains.’ (SZS III: 161), which was included in Hyakunin isshu (81).

GSIS XVIII: 1063

Composed on the instructions of His Majesty, on the way back from Sumiyoshi, when he had accompanied him there in the Third Month, Enkyū 5 [April 1073].

おきつかぜふきにけらしな住吉の松のしづえをあらふしらなみ

okitsukaze
fukinikerashi na
sumiyoshi no
matsu no shizue o
arau shiranami
The wind in the offing
Is gusting, it seems, for
At Sumiyoshi
The pines’ low branches
Are washed by whitecaps.

Minister of Justice Tsunenobu

Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta’awase 96

Left

住吉のきしによる波夜さへや夢のかよひ路人めよくらむ

sumiyoshi no
kishi ni yoru nami
yoru sae ya
yume no kayoiji
hitome yokuramu
On Sumiyoshi’s
Shore break waves;
Even at night
Upon the path of dreams
Can we avoid others’ prying eyes?

186

Right

夕附夜おぼろに人を見てしより天雲はれぬ心地こそすれ

yūzukuyo
oboro ni hito o
miteshi yori
amagumo harenu
kokochi koso sure
On a moonlit evening
Faintly, a lady
Did I see, and ever since
Heaven’s clouds, unclearing,
Weigh on my feelings…

187

Conclusion

住吉の松はあはれもかけやせむ八十過ぬる和歌の浦波

sumiyoshi no
matsu wa aware mo
kake ya semu
yasoji suginuru
waka no uranami
At Sumiyoshi will
The pines feel compassion
For me?
Spending more than eighty years
Washed by the waves of Waka Bay…

Judge
1201

和歌の浦のしるべとなれる老の浪げに住吉の松も知るらん

waka no ura no
shirube to nareru
oi no nami
geni sumiyoshi no
matsu mo shiruran
To Waka Bay
A guide have you become,
Washed by waves of age;
Truly, at Sumiyoshi
The pines will know that well!

A Servant Girl
1202