On passing through Tokiwa Grove at the beginning of the Tenth Month.
しぐれの雨そめかねてけり山しろのときはのもりの槙の下ばは
| shigure no ame somekanetekeri yamashiro no tokiwa no mori no maki no shitaba wa | Showers of rain Cannot dye In Yamashiro Sempiternal Tokiwa Grove’s Evergreen underleaves…[i] |
Dharma Master Nōin
[i] An allusive variation on: 四具礼能雨 無間之零者 真木葉毛 争不勝而 色付尓家里 shigure no ame / ma nakushi fureba / maki no pa mo / arasoikanete / irozukinikeri ‘Showers of rain / Fall without respite, so / Even evergreens’ leaves / Can fight no longer, and / Take on a hint of colour.’ Anonymous (Man’yōshū X: 2196)
Mugwort in the Grounds[i]
Left
よろづよもときはならなんけふのためいはひておほすそののよもぎは
| yorozuyo mo tokiwa naranan kyō no tame iwaite ōsu sono no yomogi wa | For ten thousand ages more Evergreen, I would you be! For today’s Celebration, lushly growing Mugwort in the grounds… |
3
Right
そののうちにおふるよもぎのえだしげみすゑさかゆべくみゆるきみかな
| sono no uchi ni ouru yomogi no eda shigemi sue sakayubeku miyuru kimi kana | Within the grounds A’growing, the mugwort’s Branches are lush To the very end they flourish, As do you appear to, my Lord! |
4
In ancient times, folk arose on this day with the dawn together with the birds and, taking those branches of mugwort from within their grounds that resembled people, dried them in the shade and made medicinal draughts—I wonder, were both Left and Right unaware of this? There is not even a dewdrop’s worth of diction in accordance with the topic, so I must make this round a tie.
かたかたにとるかたもなきよもぎぐさひとかずならぬここちこそすれ
| katakata ni toru kata mo naki yomogigusa hito kazu naranu kokochi koso sure | Both sides say Nothing noteworthy about Mugwort plants,so Neither is worth much, I feel! |
Judge 2
[i] Sono no naka no yomogi 園中蓬
Snow
Round One
Left (Win)
たまのきにははそのもりもなりにけりふるしらゆきのきえぬかぎりは
| tama no ki ni hahaso no mori mo narinikeri furu shirayuki no kienu kagiri wa | Into trees of gems has The oak forest Turned While the falling snow Does not fade away… |
Lord Dainagon
43[i]
Right
ゆきふればあをばの山も見がくれてときはのきをやけさはをるらむ
| yuki fureba aoba no yama mo migakurete tokiwa no ki o ya kesa wa oruramu | Snow has fallen, so The verdant mountain Vanishes from sight— Might the evergreens Be broken the morning? |
Lord Chūnagon
44[ii]
The poem of the Left is entirely lacking in any interest. Isn’t this a sage’s jewelled tree? It really leaves me grief-stricken. The poem of the Right contains two faults in a single work. First, this is not the right time of year to be referring to a ‘verdant mountain’. Second, ‘vanishes from sight’ refers to disappearing in water. In the Collection of a Myriad Leaves ‘vanishing from sight’ is written as ‘hidden in the water’. Thus we have lines such as, ‘swarming frogs hiding in the weeds beneath the waves’. There are no prior poems mentioning ‘mountains vanishing from sight’ in either ancient or modern times.
On the matter of the ‘tree of gems’, I heard a long time ago that this might have appeared in an important source, but as this is something I know little about, even if this is a fault, it’s difficult for me to say anything about it. Well, in any case, it doesn’t sound bad. Would someone who knows all about this compose poorly? The Right’s poem lacks elegance, but it doesn’t sound like it has any other faults. It’s inferior to the Left only in ornamentation.
[i] Some sources identify Mototoshi as the composer of this poem.
[ii] This poem is included in Toshiyori’s personal collection, Sanboku kikashū (670), with the headnote, ‘Composed in place of someone for a poetry match in Nara’,
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
Left
をしめどもとまらぬ秋は常盤山もみぢはてぬとみてもゆるさじ
| oshimedomo tomaranu aki wa tokiwayama momiji hatenu to mite mo yurusaji | I regret it, yet Autumn lingers not Upon the evergreen mountains The scarlet leaves have yet to end, I see and would not let them go. |
43
Right
としごとにとまらぬ秋とおもひなばてもろき人もをしまざらまし
| toshigoto ni tomaranu aki to omoinaba temoroki hito mo oshimazaramashi | If, that every single year Autumn lingers not, I did not think, then Tear-filled folk I would not have regret it. |
44
Left (Tie)
しぐれつつ草ばもなべてもみづともときはの山にあきはとまれり
| shiguretsutsu kusaba mo nabete momizu to mo tokiwa no yama ni aki wa tomareri | Ever falls the drizzling rain, and Both leaves and grasses, all, Take on autumn hues, yet Within the evergreen mountains Autumn has halted. |
9
Right
をしめども秋はとまらぬ竜田山もみぢを幣とそらにたむけん
| oshimedomo aki wa tomaranu tatsutayama momiji o nusa to sora ni tamuken | How I regret it, yet Autumn does not linger upon Tatsuta Mountain: Its autumn leaves as a garland To the skies it seems to offer. |
10
As a poem on willows.
春くれば猶色まさる山しろのときはの杜の青柳のいと
| haru kureba nao iro masaru yamashiro no tokiwa no mori no aoyagi no ito | Spring has come, and Still their hues are beyond fine: In Yamashiro’s Evergreen forests— Pale green threads of willow. |
