For the Day of the Rat celebrations at the palace in Eihō 4 [1084].
ねのびする野べのこまつをうつしうゑて年のをながく君ぞ引くべき
| ne no bi suru nobe no komatsu o utsushi’uete toshi no o nagaku kimi zo hikubeki | For the Day of the Rat Pine seedlings from the plains We transplant, that The long thread of their years Will draw our Lord with them! |
Supernumerary Middle Counsellor Michitoshi
Round Six
Left (Tie)
さくらばな風にしちらぬものならばおもふことなき春にぞあらまし
| sakurabana kaze ni shi chiranu mono naraba omou koto naki haru ni zo aramashi | Did the cherry blossom With the breeze not scatter Then, There would be no gloomy thoughts In springtime, surely! |
Yoshinobu
12[i]
Right
さくらばないろみるほどによをしへば歳のゆくをもしらでやみなん
| sakurabana iro miru hodo ni yo o shi heba toshi no yuku o mo shirade yaminan | While upon the cherry blossoms’ Hues I gaze, Passing through this world, That the years go by I feel not, no, not at all![ii] |
Kanemori
13
Both Left and Right are well presented. Thus, they tie.
[i] This poem was included in Shikashū (I: 36).
[ii] Kanemori’s poem here can be viewed as a response to the emotions expressed by Ono no Komachi in her famous composition: Topic unknown. 花の色はうつりにけりないたづらにわが身世にふるながめせしまに hana no iro wa / utsurinikeri na / itazura ni / wa ga mi yo ni furu / nagameseshi ma ni ‘The colour of this flower / Has already faded away, / While in idle thoughts / My life goes by, / As I watch the long rains fall.’ (Kokinshū II: 113) (Hagitani and Taniyama 1965, 81)
Round Four
Willows
Left
あらたまのとしをつむらんあをやぎのいとはいづれの春かたゆべき
| aratama no toshi o tsumuran aoyagi no ito wa izure no haru ka tayubeki | New jewels, The years seem to spin out Green willow Threads: when might The spring be that they snap? |
Mochiki
8[i]
Right (Win)
さほひめのいとそめかくるあをやぎをふきなみだりそ春の山風
| saohime no ito somekakuru aoyagi o fuki na midari so haru no yamakaze | Princess Sao Has dyed the dangling threads of Green willow— O, don’t blow them into tangles, Spring breeze from the mountains! |
Kanemori
9
While the Right’s poem was being recited, the gentlemen of the Left stated, ‘The current willow poem was already recited out of sequence, and yet they desire to recite it again. It seems they have forgotten basic procedure!’ This minor official replied, ‘His Majesty’s ruling has already been granted on this matter following the Left’s request when the poems on bush warblers were recited, so this objection cannot be raised again.’
In the Left’s poem ‘New jewels, / The years seem to spin out / Green willow’ lacks sense. While the Right’s poem has nothing worth mentioning about it, it does not appear to have any faults, and thus it wins.
[i] A variant on this poem is included in Goshūishū (I: 74), as well as in some texts of this match: Composed on willows for the Palace Poetry Match held in Tentoku 4. あらたまのとしをへつつもあをやぎのいとはいづれのはるかたゆべき aratama no / toshi o hetsutsu mo / aoyagi no / ito wa izure no / haru ka tayubeki ‘New jewels, / The years pass ever by with / Green willow / Threads: when might / The spring be that they snap?’ Given Saneyori’s judgement, however, I am following Hagitani and Taniyama (1965, 80) in prioritising this version.
年ふれば老ぞたふれて朽ちぬべき身はすみの江の松ならなくに
| toshi fureba oi zo taurete kuchinubeki mi wa suminoe no matsu naranaku ni | As the years mount up, Age lays me low and I have withered away, for I, at Suminoe, A pine tree am not…[i] |
693
[i] See: Kokinshū XVII: 905.
Poems for folding screens.
とよ国のきくのそままつおいにけりしらずいく代の年かへにけむ
| toyokuni no kiku no somamatsu oinikeri shirazu ikuyo no toshi ka henikemu | In the land of Toyo The timber pines at Kiku Have grown old; I know not how many ages and Years they have passed through…[i] |
692
[i] See: 豊洲 聞浜松 心裳 何妹 相云始 toyokuni no / kiku no hamamatsu / nemokoro ni / nani shika imo ni / ai’iisomekemu ‘As in the land of Toyo / At Kiku the beach-pines, / Sweetly, / Why has my darling / Begun to meet and talk with me?’ Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection (Man’yōshū XII: 3130)
For a painting on a sliding door where there was a pine growing on the crags.
岩のうへにおふる小松の年もへぬいく千代までと契り置きけん
| iwa no ue ni ouru komatsu no toshi mo henu ikuyo made to chigiri okiken | Atop the crag Growing, a pine seedling: that ‘Twould pass through the years, Until it reach however many ages— It seems a vow was made. |
663
ゆくすゑもかぎりはしらずすみよしの松にいくよの年かへぬらん
| yukusue mo kagiri wa shirazu sumiyoshi no matsu ni ikuyo no toshi ka henuran | Even the future’s Limits are unknown for Sumiyoshi’s Pines—how many ages and Years might they pass through?[i] |
659
[i] See: Topic unknown. 我見てもひさしく成りぬ住の江の岸の姫松いくよへぬらむ ware mite mo / hisashiku narinu / suminoe no / kishi no himematsu / ikuyo henuramu ‘Even to my sight / Eternal are / Suminoe’s / Princess pines upon the shore: / How many ages have they passed through?’ Anonymous (Kokinshū XVII: 905)
On the conception of felicitation.
ひめしまの小松がうれにゐるたづは千とせふれども年おいずけり
| himeshima no komatsu ga ure ni iru tazu wa chitose furedomo toshi oizukeri | Among Himeshima’s[i] Pine seedling shoots Rest cranes: A thousand year may pass, yet They’ll not age through the years.[ii] |
655
[i] Himeshima 姫島 (‘Princess Isle’) was a small island which is believed to have lain in the mouth of the Yodo River where it entered the inland sea south of modern Osaka. Due to changes in topography and the river’s course since ancient times, however, its exact location is now unknown.
[ii] See: [One of] two poems composed to express his grief and sorrow by Kawabe no Miyahito when he saw the coffin of a young girl in the pine groves of Himeshima in Wadō 4 [711]. 妹之名者 千代尓将流 姫嶋之 子松之末尓 蘿生万代尓 imo ga na wa / chiyo ni nagaremu / himeshima no / komatsu ga ure ni / kokemusu made ni ‘This maiden’s name / Will drift down a thousand ages / Until Himeshima’s / Pine seedling shoots are / Choked with hanging moss.’ (Man’yōshū II: 228)
Snow at a shrine.
年つもるこしの白山しらずともかしらの雪をあはれとはみよ
| toshi tsumoru koshi no shirayama shirazu tomo kashira no yuki o aware to wa miyo | How years has it drifted upon The mountains white at Shirayama in Koshi I know not, but The snow above my brow, O, behold with pity![i] |
636
[i] See: Composed at Hiroshi Marōdo Shrine, recalling a visit to Shirayama, when he was Governnor of Kaga. としふともこしの白山わすれずはかしらのゆきをあはれともみよ toshi futomo / koshi no shirayama / wasurezu wa / kashira no yuki o / aware tomo miyo ‘The years have passed, yet / The mountains white at Shirayama in Koshi / Never will I forget! So, / The snow above my brow, / O, behold with pity!’ Master of the Left Capital Office Akisuke (Shinkokinshū XIX: 1912)
