The 2nd World Tanka Competition
Deadline: 31th March 2001
Sponsor: Sakurama Makoto no Kai(Noh player association)
Co-sponsor: Mainichi Daily News, The Mainichi Weekly & The Plaza2
Regulations: The theme is "Autumn leaves"
Entry fee:none
Entry procedure: Please send your original, previously unpublished
tanka
written in traditional 5-7-5-7-7 syllable, five-line form. No other
form
will be accepted. Please write your two tanka on a postcard or e-mail
or fax
in block letters. Also write your name, address, birthdate, gender
and
occupation.
Correspondence: Officials cannot reply to any questions. Announcements
of
the competition also appear on the homepage of the sponsor:
<http://www.sakurama.com>, on Mainichi Daily News & The Mainichi
Weekly
published on 23th December(tel 03-3212-3268, E-mail:
weekly@mainixchi.co.jp), monthly magazine, The Plaza2 published on
10th
December(tel 042-734-3758, E-mail plaza2@ce.mbn.or.jp) and an annual
magazine,
JAPAN INTERNATIONAL TANKA MAGAZINE published in 2000.
Sunmit entries to: The 2nd World Tanka Competition 2-37-2-202 Shibuya,
Tokyo, JAPAN 〒151-0051 E-mail: <info@sakurama.com>
FAX no. <03-5772-2678>
Judge: James Kirkup, Mutsuo Shukuya
Awards: One grand prize and some others.
Notification: Results of the judging will be announced on Mainichi
Daily News、
The Mainichi Weekly and monthly magazine, Plaza2 in June 2001.
And detail informations of this competition will be reported on annual
magazine, JAPAN INTERNATIONALTANKA MAGAZINE printed in 2001.
<E-mail:plaza2@ce.mbn.or.jp>
Notes: The organizers of the 2nd World Tanka Competition are calling
for
contributions and hope to receive your tanka. The winning poems in
English
will be chanted in original style set to music and the winning poems
in
Japanese will chanted in traditional style reminiscent of the New Year's
Poetry Party at the Imperial Court.
About tanka on the theme, "Autumn leaves" for this competition:
by MutsuoShukuya
The organizers of this competition hope to receive your tanka, which
are composed refering to the following tanka on the theme, "Autumn
leaves"
by Tamesuke Reizei(grand son of Teika Fujiwara, his mother is Abutsuni,
ancestor of Reizei family) in a story, "Mutsura". He compsoed it when
he
visited a temple at Mutsura in Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama-city,
Kanagawa-prefecture to see the sights of Autumn leaves. When he got
into the
garden of this temple, He found that leaves of a maple tree had turned
red
although all other trees including the mountain's had not turned red
yet.
Why has this one tree/ been visited by showers?
Before their time, and/ in advance of the mountains,
gaden leaves have autumn tints. by Tamesuke
Reizei
When a monk visited the same temple that Tamesuke had visited a long
time
before, he found a tree whose leaves are still green though the others
had
already turned red. When he wondered why these are, a lady
who is an incarnation of the maple tree explained the reason. As he
understood it, he also composed the following tanka.
I asked the reason/ why just this one tree remains
without decaying:/ autumn showers in my sleeves
come long before the mountains'. by a monk
When the lady listened it, she thanked him profoundly and began to
talk about such mysteries of nature as the plum blossoms which tell
us
spring has arrived, many cherry blossoms in Yoshino which are at their
best
like floating clouds, the flowers of deutzia which bloom along the
fence in
a garden like snows and Autumn leaves in the mountains which are dyed
with a
shower in late autumn. In this story there are lines which give a hint
of
the following tanka by Tsurayuki Kino in this story.
This mountain is where/ white dews and autumn showers
fall in abundance;/ even the lower leaves all
become stained with autumn tints. by Tsurayuki
Kino
I also found a maple tree which turned red although the others had not
turned red yet in front of the cave, when I visited Akiyoshi in Yamaguchi
prefecture. So, I composed the following tanka refering to the tanka
by
Tamesuke in this story.
In the neighbourhood/ of Akiyoshi mountain
without waiting for/ autumn's arrival, one tree
all crimson with autumn tints. by Mutsuo Shukuya
I hope you can also compose your tanka refering to the following three
tanka as well as above four tanka.
Ah, autumnal tints/ on Mount Ogura's peak --
if you have a heart,/ wait for one more visit from
the Emperor -- stay till then! by Tadahira Fujiwara
The shower has passed,/ and clouds around the foohills
are clearing away./ Autumn's tinted leaves are dyed
in the sunset on the peak. by Yoshitsune
Fujiwara
Now the trees begin/ to put on autumn colours,
changing day by day;/ soon whole mountainsides display
embroidered crimson curtains. by James Kirkup
・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・
Ｊａｍｅｓ Ｋｉｒｋｕｐ showed you some more example tanka:
Autumn festivals/ of variegated leaves --
painted, dyed, tinted:/ like coloured flags and banners
brighten the dark of pine woods.
The crimson maples/ stand along the river like
venerable priests:/ in brocaded robes, they bless
the waters with tinted leaves.
The autumn forests/ on the mountain slopes begin
to change their colours:/ red, gold, purple foliage
rising to deep blue heavens.
This autumn theme is a good test of English vocabulary as well as style:
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