A poem sent by the Elder Maiden of Nakatomi to Ōtomo, sukune Yakamochi.
いなと言はば強ひめや我が背菅の根の思ひ乱れて恋ひつつもあらむ
| ina ipaba sipime ya wa ga se suga no ne no omopimidarete koitutu mo aramu |
Should you tell me no, Should I pointlessly implore you? As the sedge-roots In a tangle of passion Will I ever love you! |
The Elder Maiden of Nakatomi
中臣郎女
A poem composed by Lord Ōtomo, Major Councillor.
奥山の菅の葉しのぎ降る雪の消なば惜しけむ雨な降りそね
| okuyama no suga no pa sinogi puru yuki no kenaba wosikemu ame na puri so ne |
Deep within the mountains The sedge-stalks are weighed down with Falling snow, but Should it vanish, how I would regret it, so Fall not, O rain! |
Ōtomo no Yasumaro (?-714)
大伴安麻呂
On hearing the spring rain fall when having nothing to do.
つくづくと春のながめのさびしきはしのぶにつたふのきの玉水
| tsukuzuku to haru no nagame no sabishiki wa shinobu ni tsutau noki no tamamizu |
Ceaselessly Spring’s long rains fill my gaze With sorrow: A tale told to the ferns By droplets from the eaves… |
Major Archbishop Gyōkei (1101-1165)
大僧正行慶
Left (Win).
重ねずと思ふばかりぞ小夜衣匂ひは袖に移りぬるかな
| kasanezu to omou bakari zo sayogoromo nioi wa sode ni utsurinuru kana |
No piled robes, but All I do is long for her: Her night-robe’s Scent upon my sleeves Does dwell…. |
Lord Suetsune
881
Right.
匂ひ來る梢ばかりを情にて主は遠き宿の梅が枝
| nioikuru kozue bakari o nasake nite aruji wa tōki yado no mume ga e |
The scent drifting From the treetops is my only Consolation, for Their master is as far away As his dwelling’s plum blossom branches… |
Nobusada
882
The Right state: the Left’s poem lacks any faults to indicate. The Left state: is the Right’s poem not composed upon the plum blossom of the house next door?
In judgement: for the topic of ‘Nearby Love’, poems composed where the lovers are in the same room are most likely winners. Even so, how close do their dwellings need to be? The Left’s latter section, ‘Her night-robe’s scent upon my sleeves’ (sayogoromo nioi wa sode ni) is certainly elegant. The Right’s poem has ‘Their master is as far away’ (aruji wa tōki). Simply because of this, it is certainly not composed on plum blossom. Still, the Left’s ‘night-robe’ (sayogoromo) seems a little superior to ‘The scent drifting from the treetops is my only consolation’ (nioikuru kozue bakari o nasake nite).
Left (Win).
いかなれば程なき中の通ひ路も逢ひ見ぬ夜半は苦しかるらん
| ika nareba hodo naki naka no kayoiji mo aiminu yowa wa kurushikaruran |
Why is it that We are so close in love And distance, yet Those nights we cannot meet Are so painful still? |
Lord Kanemune
879
Right.
思ひこそ遠き程だにしるべなれ手も通ひなん中の隔ては
| omoi koso tōki hodo dani shirube nare te mo kayoi nan naka no hedate wa |
Love’s flame Across a distance far Is a beacon; though An outstretched hand Is our only separation… |
Lord Takanobu
880
As the previous round.
In judgement: the Right sounds as if the lovers are exceedingly close. The Left, that even when the distance separating you is not that great, it is still painful, is, indeed, the case. Thus, the Left wins.
Written on the rocks by the waterfall at Provisional Middle Councillor Atsutada’s mountain retreat at Nishi-sakamoto.
音羽川せき入れて落す瀧つせに人の心のみえもするかな
| otoFagaFa seki’irete otosu taki tu se ni Fito no kokoro no mie mo suru kana |
On Otowa River A barrier is placed to drop A cataract in torrents And, your heart, perhaps, Reveal! |
Ise
伊勢
When the same former Emperor [Koichijō] had gone to reside with the Takamatsu Consort, and his visits to her had become intermittent, she composed this on hearing the wind blowing strongly through the pines.
松風は色や緑にふきつらむ物おもふ人の身にぞ志みぬる
| matukaze Fa iro ya midori ni Fukituramu mono’omoFu Fito no mi ni zo siminuru |
Does the wind through the pines Take on a hue of green As it blows? That one so sunk in gloomy thought It so deeply dyes… |
The Horikawa Consort 堀川女御
[Fujiwara no Nobuko/Enshi 藤原延子 (985-1019)
On a night when the Ise Vestal was conducting the Kōshin rite at the shrine in the fields, she composed this on the topic of the wind in the pines sounding a zither’s strings when blowing at night.
ことのねに峯の松風かよふらしいづれのをよりしらべそめけん
| koto no ne ni mine no matukaze kayoFurasi idure no wo yori sirabe someken |
The zither’s strains With wind from pines atop the peak Do sound; Which string is it That may start me on my way? |
The Ise Vestal Consort 斎宮女御
[Princess Yoshiko/Kishi 徽子女王] (929-985)
Left (Tie).
聞き馴れてきては心も慰まず聲の通ふは甲斐無かりけり
| kikinarete kite wa kokoro mo nagusamazu koe no kayou wa kai nakarikeri |
Familiar to the ear It comes, but my heart Has no consolation; The interplay of voices is Pointless, indeed. |
Lord Ari’ie
877
Right.
睦言の通はぬ中と成ぬれば聲は聞けども甲斐無かりけり
| mutsugoto no kayowanu naka to narinureba koe wa kikedomo kai nakarikeri |
Sweet words do we Exchange No more, so Even if I hear your voice, it is Pointless, indeed. |
Lord Tsune’ie
878
Left and Right both state: no faults.
In judgement: the conception of both poems ‘interplay of voices’ (koe kayou), is of the same quality.