Table Of ContentThe Poetry Contest in Six Hundred Rounds
Volume 1
Brill’s Japanese Studies Library
Edited by
Joshua Mostow (Managing Editor)
Caroline Rose
Kate Wildman Nakai
volume 67/1
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/bjsl
The Poetry Contest in
Six Hundred Rounds
A Translation and Commentary
VOLUME 1
By
Thomas E. McAuley
LEIDEN | BOSTON
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: McAuley, T. E. (Thomas E.), translator, writer of added commentary.
Title: The poetry contest in six hundred rounds : a translation and
commentary / by Thomas E. McAuley.
Other titles: Roppyakuban utaawase. English.
Description: Leiden ; Boston : Brill, [2020] | Series: Brill’s Japanese
studies library, 0925–6512 ; volume 67 | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019037122 (print) | LCCN 2019037123 (ebook) | ISBN
9789004411289 (set ; hardback) | ISBN 9789004420885 (v. 1 ; hardback) |
ISBN 9789004420892 (v. 2 ; hardback) | ISBN 9789004411296 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Roppyakuban utaawase—Translations into English. |
Waka—Translations into English. | Utaawase—Translations into English.
| Japanese poetry—1185–1600—Translations into English. | Waka—History
and criticism. | Japanese poetry—1185–1600—History and criticism.
Classification: LCC PL758.5.R66 A3 2020 (print) | LCC PL758.5.R66 (ebook)
| DDC 895.61008—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019037122
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019037123
Typeface for the Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic scripts: “Brill”. See and download: brill.com/brill-typeface.
ISSN 0925-6512
ISBN 978-90-04-41128-9 (hardback, set)
ISBN 978-90-04-42088-5 (hardback, vol. 1)
ISBN 978-90-04-42089-2 (hardback, vol. 2)
ISBN 978-90-04-41129-6 (e-book)
Copyright 2020 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Translations and Abbreviations for Major Poetry Anthologies x
Volume 1
Introduction 1
The Poetry Contest in Six Hundred Rounds
The Poetry Competition of One Hundred Poem Sequences, Held at the
House of the Major Captain of the Left 53
Spring I 62
Spring II 111
Spring III 158
Summer I 203
Summer II 260
Autumn I 305
Autumn II 354
Autumn III 400
Winter I 450
Winter II 498
Love I 538
Love II 581
Love III 620
Volume 2
Love IV 659
Love V 702
Love VI 747
Love VII 792
Love VIII 854
Love IX 903
Love X 949
vi Contents
The Six Hundred Round Appeal
The Six Hundred Round Appeal 997
Appendix 1: Results by Team 1189
Appendix 2: Competition Poems by Poet 1194
Appendix 3: Results by Poet 1199
Glossary of Critical Terms and Translations 1200
Bibliography 1203
General Index 1212
Index of First Lines 1224
Index of Poems 1260
Index of Poets 1281
Acknowledgements
The translation of the Poetry Competition in Six Hundred Rounds has been a
project which has occupied my energies for so many years that I find it dif-
ficult now to think back to when I first made the decision to do it. I can re-
member, however, when I first encountered poems from the competition: in
Steven Carter’s Traditional Japanese Poetry: An Anthology, and though at the
time I had no idea that I might ever translate the uta’awase myself, I recall
seeking then for both a complete annotated text of it and more translations,
and being disappointed when they proved to be unavailable. When a complete
edition with commentary by Kubota Jun and Yamaguchi Akiho appeared in
Iwanami’s Shin nihon koten bungaku taikei series, therefore, I was overjoyed
and I obtained it – at the time simply with the intention of finally being able
to read the poetry. It is thus to Professors Carter, Kubota and Yamaguchi that
I owe an immense debt of gratitude: for introducing me to the poetry of the
competition in the first instance, and for the dedicated explanatory scholar-
ship which enabled me to begin to understand the poems, the poets’ critical
comments and, of course, Shunzei’s judgements. Without that assistance and
stimulus this work would never have taken place.
It is equally true that the translation would never have seen the light of day
in its current form without the assistance, support and encouragement of many
organisations and individuals over the years of its gestation and production. If
I were to give all of them the full credit they deserve, these acknowledgements
would probably expand to encompass the names of everyone with whom I
have worked over the last two decades, all of whom have contributed in some
way or other to its success, even if only through being supportive colleagues
and enthusiastic students and thus motivating me to continue the work. To all
of you who remain nameless, I still express my thanks and appreciation.
There are, however, some to whom more extensive gratitude is due: first, to
Glenn Hook, who first encouraged me to think of waka translation as some-
thing which I could do well and extensively, and to the Great Britain Sasakawa
Foundation, which funded my initial translation efforts, which saw fruit in the
Japan 2001 Waka website and mailing list project, and years later provided fur-
ther funds for transforming Japan 2001 Waka into www.wakapoetry.net, where
initial drafts of the translation, and many others, were released. Without the
experience of these projects, I doubt I would have had the confidence to tackle
Roppyakuban uta’awase and I remain indebted to those who encouraged and
supported them.
viii Acknowledgements
I must also thank my colleagues at the School of East Asian Studies: Hugo
Dobson and Peter Matanle who, as Head of Department and Director of
Research have patiently supported my endeavours on this long-term project
while faced with the pressures imposed by the Research Assessment Exercise
and its successor the Research Excellence Framework on academics in the
United Kingdom. Again, without their unfailing belief in the value of the trans-
lation as a contribution to research and scholarship, it would not have been
achievable. Just as important, however, has been the unstinting emotional sup-
port and friendship (as well as pints of cider) offered by Luli Ishikawa-van der
Does, Mark Pendleton, Nagai Miyuki, Harald Conrad and, more recently, Kate
Taylor-Jones, which has seen me through some of the darker times when it
seemed the translation would never be completed.
No acknowledgements would be complete, of course, without recognising
the contribution made by the community of waka scholars and members of
the Waka Workshop, all of whom have offered constructive advice and support
over the last few years as the translation began to take on its final form. In
particular, Christina Laffin, Gian-Piero Persiani, Laurel Rodd and Robert Khan
have all been invaluable sources of encouragement. I also owe an enormous
debt of gratitude to Joshua Mostow for encouraging me to think of the trans-
lation as something which could be published, working to bring the work to
Brill, and for performing the final pre-publication reading of the manuscript
and making further valuable suggestions for improvement. I must also thank
Gaye Rowley and Tom Harper for their hospitality and support over the years,
and in particular during a sabbatical visit to Waseda University in 2012, fund-
ed by a grant from the Japan Foundation Endowment Committee. This al-
lowed me to finally get to grips with the voluminous Japanese scholarship on
Roppyakuban uta’awase and waka criticism. Without the insights gained from
the many scholars whose works I have read, the translation could never have
been completed. I must also thank the anonymous reviewer of the manuscript
selected by Brill, whose patient, helpful and incisive comments have informed
and significantly improved the final version. Where errors remain, and sadly I
am certain that despite the best efforts of copy-editors and proof-readers these
will be present, they remain entirely my own responsibility.
Finally, to my long-suffering family: my wife Claire, and my children Ben,
Ellen and Imogen, who have largely grown up with the Poetry Competition in
Six Hundred Rounds – thank you for putting up with me on all those evenings
and weekends when I was buried in pre-modern Japan and not as focussed on
family matters as I should have been; thank you for bearing my absences on
visits to Japan during school holidays and term-time, and keeping hearth and
Acknowledgements ix
home together while I have been away. I know at times it has not been easy,
and gratitude expressed here is small recompense for paternal or husbandly
absence, but it is deeply felt. Without having your enriching presence in my
life, I do not think I could have motivated myself to complete this translation.
