Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 26

Round Twenty-Six

Left

恋ひしなんいのちを誰にゆづりおきてつれなき人のはてをみせまし

koishinan
inochi o tare ni
yuzuri’okite
tsurenaki hito no
hate o misemashi
Likely dying of love,
My life, to whom should I
Consign?
That cruel girl’s
Ending—would that show it to her?

Shun’e

51

Right (Win)

つれもなき人はおもひもすてられでうき身のみこそなげまほしけれ

tsure mo naki
hito wa omoi mo
suterarede
ukimi no mi koso
nagemahoshikere
So cruel is
That girl, but my passion for her
I cannot abandon;
It is my pitiful self that
I would wish to throw away!

Kenshō

52

The Left isn’t bad, but it’s a bit cliched. As for the Right, having both ‘abandon’ and ‘throw away’ could be a fault and yet the conception of one ‘abandoning passion’ is different. Whichever way you look at it, it wins.

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 25

Round Twenty-Five

Left

恋ひしなん後は煙とのぼりなばたなびく雲をそれとだにみよ

koishinan
nochi wa keburi to
noborinaba
tanabiku kumo o
sore to dani miyo
I shall die of love for you, and
After as smoke
Shall rise, then
The trailing clouds
Behold and think of me!

Iemoto
49

Right

我が身だに思ふにたがふ物なればことわりなりや人のつらきは

wa ga mi dani
omou ni tagau
mono nareba
kotowarinari ya
hito no tsuraki wa
My sorry self
Differs from what I had thought
So I suppose
It’s natural, isn’t it—
That she should be so cruel…

Moromitsu
50

The Right made me feel that’s how it is. It’s charming.

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 24

Round Twenty-Four

Love

Left (Win)

恋しさのなぐさむ方やなからましつらき心をおもひませずは

koishisa no
nagusamu kata ya
nakaramashi
tsuraki kokoro o
omoimasezu wa
I wish my love for you
My consolation
Would be not—for then
Of your cold heart
I would not have to think…

Lord Kiyosuke
47

Right

君こずはうちへもいらじはらひつるねやのおもはむ事もはづかし

kimi kozu wa
uchi e mo iraji
haraitsuru
neya no omowamu
koto wa hazukashi
You have not come, so
I’ll not enter in—
Swept clean,
Thinking of my bedchamber
Is embarrassing, indeed!

Shun’e
48

Both are elegant, yet what comes after ‘within’ is not something which one would really feel, so I would say the Right loses.

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 23

Round Twenty-Three

Left (Win)

雪ふかみしづのふせ屋もうづもれて煙ばかりぞしるしなりける

yuki fukami
shizu no fuseya mo
uzumorete
keburi bakari zo
shirushi narikeru
Snow so deep that
The peasants’ huts, too,
Are buried, and
The smoke, alone, is
Their only sign!

Kinshige
45

Right

花の春もみぢの秋もしるかりし松の木ずゑもみえぬ白雪

hana no haru
momiji no aki mo
shirukarishi
matsu no kozue mo
mienu shirayuki
By blossom is spring, and
By scarlet leaves is autumn
Known—
The treetops of the pines
Invisible with snow, so white.

Kūnin
46

The Left poem’s conception of ‘sign of smoke’ sounds particularly profound. As for the Right, it is possible for enough snow to fall to conceal a pine’s lower leaves, too, so the poem does not sound satisfying.

Dairi kiku awase 04

Right

けふひきてくもゐにうつすきくのはなあまつほしとやあすからはみん

kyō hikite
kumoi ni utsusu
kiku no hana
ama tsu hoshi to ya
asu kara wa min
Today do I draw up,
Reflecting in the clouds,
Chrysanthemum blooms—
As stars within the heavens
Might they seem tomorrow?

Kanesuke
8

あたらしきものにざりけるかみなづきしぐれふりにしいろにはあれども

atarashiki
mono ni zarikeru
kaminazuki
shigure furinishi
iro ni wa aredomo
A new
Thing it is not:
In the Godless Month
Showers have fallen
Bringing their hues, and yet…

Kanesuke
9

ひとくさにさけばかひなしももしきにうつりてのちはいろかふなきみ

hitokusa ni
sakeba kainashi
momoshiki ni
utsurite nochi wa
iro kau na kimi
For a single flower
To bloom is pointless, but
When to the hundredfold palace
It is shifted,
It’s hues do change, indeed, my lord!

Korehira
10

うつろふとみゆるものからきくのはなさけりしえだぞかはらざりける

utsurou to
miyuru mono kara
kiku no hana
sakerishi eda zo
kawarazarikeru
A faded
Thing does it appear to be,
This chrysanthemum flower;
Branch where it did bloom
Is unchanged, indeed!

Tsurayuki
11

きくのはなこきもうすきもいままでにしものおかずばいろをみましや

kiku no hana
koki mo usuki mo
ima made ni
shimo no okazuba
iro o mimashi ya
If upon the chrysanthemum flowers,
Both deep and pale,
Up to this day
The frost had not fallen, then
Would I wish to see their hues?

Mitsune
12

はつしぐれふりそめしよりきくのはなこかりしえだぞまたそはりける

hatsu shigure
furisomemeshi yori
kiku no hana
kokarishi eda zo
mata sowarikeru
Since the first showers
Fell to dye
The chrysanthemum blooms
Deepened hues to the stems
Have been added more!

Mitsune
13

もとよりのいろにはあれどきくのはなかたへはうつすところがらかも

moto yori no
iro ni wa aredo
kiku no hana
katae wa utsusu
tokorogara kamo
From before
Had they their hues, yet
The chrysanthemum blooms
Shine in part—
That is their special strength, perhaps!

Mitsune
14

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 22

Round Twenty-Two

Snow

Left (Win)

霜がれのまがきの中に雪ふれば菊より後の花もありけり

shimogare no
magaki no naka ni
yuki fureba
kiku yori nochi no
hana mo arikeri
When, burned by frost,
Within my lattice fence
There is a fall of snow,
After the chrysanthemums,
There are flowers, even so.

Suketaka
43

Right

花さけば雪かとみせて雪ふれば花かとみするみよしのの山

hana sakeba
yuki ka to misete
yuki fureba
hana ka to misuru
miyoshino no yama
When the blossom blooms
I wonder if ‘tis snow, and
When the snow does fall
I wonder if ‘tis blossom
In the mountains of fair Yoshino.

Kūnin
44

Both are elegant, but even so the Right should lose.

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 21

Round Twenty-One

Left (Win)

小倉山木木のもみぢのくれなゐはみねの嵐のおろすなりけり

ogurayama
kigi no momiji no
kurenai wa
mine no arashi no
orosu narikeri
On gloomy Mount Ogura
The leaves upon the trees,
So scarlet,
By the storm wind from the peak
Are tossed down.

Lord Kiyosuke
41

Right

ふかくあさきもみぢばながるあすか河ふちせは色にあらはれにけり

fukaku asaki
momijiba nagaru
asukagawa
fuchise wa iro ni
arawarenikeri
Across both depths and shallows
Flow the scarlet leaves
On the Asuka river,
Among the rapids and the pools
Have they appeared.

Shun’e
42

Neither of these is bad. The Right violates the five syllable pattern; the Left has no faults.

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 20

Round Twenty

Scarlet Leaves

Left (Tie)

秋されば暁つゆにいもが袖まきぎの山ににほふもみぢば

aki sareba
akatsuki tsuyu ni
imo ga sode
makigi no yama ni
niou momijiba
When the autumn comes,
With the dawn, the dewdrops, as
Upon a sweet girl’s sleeves,
At Makigi Mountain
Bring a lustre to the scarlet leaves…

Masashige
39

Right

下染はおなじみどりにみし程も紅葉の色のうすくこきかな

shitazome wa
onaji midori ni
mishi hodo mo
momiji no iro no
usuku koki kana
First dyed
All with green,
When I gazed upon them, now
The scarlet leaves’ hues are
Pale and vibrant both!

Kūnin
40

The Left has a lofty tone, yet the Right is still smooth. Thus, I make this a tie.

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 19

Round Nineteen

Left (Win)

うちはらふ枕のちりもかくれなくあれたる宿をてらす月影

uchiharau
makura no chiri mo
kakurenaku
aretaru yado o
terasu tsukikage
Needing to be swept away,
The dust upon my pillow
Cannot be concealed
In my dilapidated dwelling, when
The moonlight shines within…

Taifu
37

Right

秋の夜の月みる袖におく露やひるにかはれるしるしなるらん

aki no yo no
tsuki miru sode ni
oku tsuyu ya
hiru ni kawareru
shirushi naruran
On an autumn night
Upon my sleeves, when gazing at the moon,
Fall dewdrops—
That all is changed from daytime
Might they be a sign?

Yorisuke
38

In both the moon is bright, and I feel they reflect the essential meaning of the topic, but as its diction is currently slightly more familiar, I make the Left the winner. It would be possible to call this a tie, too, though.