sayakesa ni mata kotogoto mo wasurarete futagokoro naku tsuki o koso mire
In its pure clarity Still, all other things Are forgotten, With no divisions in my heart Do I view the moon!
Lord Suetsune 57
Right (Win)
いかで猶秋しも月のかかりけむみるほどあらじ夏のよならば
ikade nao aki shimo tsuki no kakarikemu miru hodo araji natsu no yo naraba
Why is it that always In autumn, above all, the moon Does seem to hang within the sky? There’s no time to see it, perhaps, On a summer night…
Lay Priest Sanekiyo 58
The Left’s configuration is entirely lacking in consistency and, in addition, fails to indicate a clear conception, so the Right must be declared the winner.
tsuki kiyomi kai no shirane o nagamureba itsuka wa yuki ni sora wa harekeru
When at the moon, so clear, Above the white peak of Kai I gaze, I wonder When the snow Will clear from the skies…
Shun’e 55
Right
くまもなき月みるほどの心にてやがて此よをすぐしてしかな
kuma mo naki tsuki miru hodo no kokoro nite yagate kono yo o sugushiteshi kana
When the cloudless Moon I see, My heart Longs within this world To ever stay!
Lord Michiyoshi 56
While the Left does contain some feelings, these seem not to be apparent in its diction. When moonlight is confused with snow, then I would want the composition to be about a location which has none, but mentioning the ‘white peak of Kai’ makes it unclear because it sounds as the composition is about its snow. Dropping a reference to Mount Obasute and replacing it with the ‘white peak of Kai’ sounds absurd and puts me in mind of the judgement in the Poetry Match at the Palace in the Fields. With all that being said, the Right’s poem appears pointlessly pedestrian, so the Left should win, I think.
oki’akashi kumanaki tsuki o nagamureba nohara no kusa no tsuyu mo kakurezu
Lying awake ‘til dawn, and Upon the cloudless moon A’gazing— Upon the grasses o’er the plain Not a single dewdrop is concealed.
Mikawa 53
Right
月をみて心をこよひつくすかなくまなき空は又もこそあれ
tsuki o mite kokoro o koyoi tsukusu kana kumanaki sora wa mata mo koso are
Seeing the moon, Tonight, my heart Exhausts! The cloudless skies Once more are such!
Lord Kinshige 54
The Left’s ‘lying awake ‘til dawn, gazing’ suggests that the poet is at their own residence, but then it finally turns out that they are on the plain – what to make of this? It’s also the case that the moon doesn’t necessarily always appear over the plains. This poem should really have included a clearer reason for the poet’s journey. As for the Right, while it isn’t bad, the final line certainly regrettable, so this round is a tie.
matsurabune akashi no shio ni kogitomeyo koyoi no tsuki wa koko nite o mimu
O, boat from Matsura, Upon the tides of Akashi, Halt your rowing! For tonight, the moon I would gaze upon from there…
Lord Tsunemori 51
Right
月影のさえゆくままにおく霜をおもひもあへず鐘やなるらん
tsukikage no saeyuku mama ni oku shimo o omoi mo aezu kane ya naruran
While the moonlight Is so chill, Is it of the falling frost Quite heedless that The bells are tolling?
Tōren 52
I wonder if the Right’s conception is that of the bells of Fengling? It appears to be said of them that they ‘rang of their own accord when frost fell’, or something like that. Hence, in the Cathay-style poem with the topic ‘the autumn moon seeming to be frost at night’ there is also the line ‘wouldn’t you have it make the Fengling bells ring out together?’ Here, our moonlight is being thought to be frost, and the bells are tolling in response to it. But, as bells are inanimate objects, it does not seem feasible to think that they would toll upon seeing frost. Thus, saying that they would view the moonlight as frost and heedlessly toll, is odd, I have to say. As for the Left, while there is no clear reason for the initial line, the remainder seems reasonable, and so I feel this should win.
kimi shi nao kaku shi kayowaba isonokami furuki miyako mo furiji to zo omou
O, my Lady, Should you thus ever visit Isonokami, where at Furu, the ancient capital, too, Never stales, I feel![1]
Mitsune 22
Left (Win)
かよふともしられじものをふるさとはかすがのやまのふもとならねば
kayou tomo shirareji mono o furusato wa kasuga no yama no fumoto naraneba
To ever visit there is something Folk might not know, for The ancient capital Among Kasuga Mountain’s Foothills does not lie…
23
Right
はるごとにきてはみるともいそのかみふりにしさとのなにはかはらじ
haru goto ni kite wa miru tomo isonokami furinishi sato no nani wa kawaraji
Every single spring I come to gaze, yet At Isonokami, Furu’s ancient capital Does nothing ever change?
24
[1] A variant of this poem occurs in Mitsune’s personal collection: When the Priestly Emperor’s Rokujō Lady of the Bedchamber visited Kasuga, I met and conversed with Lord Tadafusa, the Governor of Yamato, and he mentioned that he had been asked to compose eight quality poems in the name of his province, so I sent him two of my own. The date was the 7th day of the Third Month, Engi 21 [17.4.921]. きくになほかくしかよはばいそのかみふるきみやこもふりしとぞおもふ kiku ni nao / kaku shi kayowaba / isonokami / furuki Miyako mo / furishi to zo omou ‘O, I hear that / Should you ever thus visit / Isonokami, where at / Furu, the ancient capital, too, / Has grown old, I feel.’(Mitsune-shū 323)
wakana tsumu toshi wa henuredo kasugano no nomori wa kyō ya haru o shiruramu
Plucking fresh herbs do The years pass by, yet On Kasuga Plain, The wardens today Must truly know ‘tis spring. [1]
Mitsune 19
Left (Tie)
けふ見てぞわれはしりぬるはなはなほかすがののべのものにぞありける
kyō mite zo ware wa shirinuru hana wa nao kasuga no nobe no mono ni zo arikeru
Today did I see, and Understood it well, that Blossom, truly, Upon the meadows of Kasuga Is best of all.
20
Right
ありへてもかすがののもりはるにあふはとしもわかなもつめるしるしか
arihete mo kasuga no nomori haru ni au wa toshi mo wakana mo tsumeru shirushi ka
Over passing ages, For the wardens of Kasuga, Encountering the springtime, The years and the fresh herbs, both, Have garnered as a sign, perhaps.
21
[1] A variant of this poem occurs in Shokugosenshū: In the twenty-first year of the same era, on a day when the Kyōgoku Lady of the Bedchamber visited the shrine at Kasuga, he composed this in place of the official from the province of Yamato. としごとにわかなつみつつかすが野ののもりもけふやはるをしるらん toshi goto ni / wakana tsumitsutsu / kasugano no / nomori mo kyō ya / haru o shiruran ‘Every single year / Ever plucking fresh herbs / On Kasuga Plain / The wardens, too, today / Must truly know ‘tis spring.’Mitsune (XVI: 1032/1029)
uguisu no nakitsuru nae ni kasugano no kyō no miyuki o hana to koso mire
While the warbler Sings on Kasuga Plain Today, accompanying the progress, snow As blossom does appear.[1]
16
Left (Win)
いまはしもはなとぞいはむかすがののはるのみゆきをなにとかは見む
ima wa shimo hana to zo iwamu kasugano no haru no miyuki o nani to ka wa mimu
Now, of all, The blossom, I would describe, On Kasuga Plain, as Springtime progress snow— What else can I say?
17
Right
ふるさとにゆきまじりたるはなと見ばわれにおくるなのべのうぐひす
furusato ni yukimajiritaru hana to miba ware ni okuru na nobe no uguisu
Around the ancient capital Have I gone amidst the snow— If as blossom I did see it, then, O, don’t send me off, Warbler upon the plain!
18
[1] SIS 1044 attributed to Fujiwara no Tadafusa ‘Headnote ‘Among the many poems presented by provincial officials, when the Kyōgoku Lady of the Bedchamber visited Kasuga.’
furusato ni saku to wabitsuru sakurabana kotoshi zo kimi ni mienuberanaru
In the ancient capital In lonely sadness bloom The cherry blossoms, that This year, my Lady Has been able to behold. [1]
13
Left
ふるさととおもひなわびそさくらばなほかのいろにもおとらざりけり
furusato to omoi na wabi so sakurabana hoka no iro ni mo otorazarikeri
That ‘tis an ancient place Think not so sadly! For the cherry blossoms To any other hues Are not inferior at all!
14
Right (Win)
見そめずもあらましものをふるさとのはなにこころのうつりぬるかな
misomezu mo aramashi mono o furusato no hana ni kokoro no utsurinuru kana
They would not first catch they eye One would have thought, but The ancient capital’s Blossoms in the heart Do linger! [2]
15
[1] SIS XVI: 1045 Headnote ‘Among the many poems presented by provincial officials, when the Kyōgoku Lady of the Bedchamber visited Kasuga.’
[2] Variants of this poem attributed to Ise, appear in both Ise-shū みそめずもあらましものをからころもたつなのみしてきるよなきかな misomezu mo / aramashi mono o / karakoromo / tatsu na nomi shite / kiru yo naki kana ‘It would not first catch the eye / One would have thought, but / A Cathay robe / Is singly remarkable in name / Though it is worn on nights not a one!’(230) and Shokugoshūishū みそめずはあらましものを山ふかみ花に心のとまりぬるかな misomezu wa / aramashi mono o / yama fukami / hana ni kokoro no / tomarinuru kana ‘They would not first catch the eye / One would have thought, but / Deep within the mountains / The blossoms in the heart / Have halted!’(II: 99)
chihayaburu kasuga no hara ni kokimazete hana tomo miyuru kami no kine kana
On mighty Kasuga plain All blend together Blossom seen with The God’s servitors!
Mitsune 10
Left (Win)
かすがののはなとはまたも見えぬべしいまこむはるのかざしがてらに
kasugano no hana to wa mata mo mienubeshi ima komu haru no kazashigatera ni
Kasuga Plain’s Blossom once more Could be seen, In the spring now lying ahead, As a garland in its hair…
11
Right
はるがすみたちまじりつつゆくからにあだにもはなとみえにけるかな
harugasumi tachimajiritsutsu yuku kara ni ada ni mo hana to mienikeru kana
Amidst the haze of spring Standing Have we come, so It might be untrue, but as blossom Do we seem!
12
The Lady of the Right on this occasion mistook the word ‘plain’ in the original poem and wrote down ‘meadow’ instead. This was challenged by the Lady of the Left, saying, ‘That’s what we heard. When someone composes at variance with the conception of the topic, that’s a loss. Thus, the Lady of the Right loses.’
Tadafusa then said to His Majesty, ‘The character used to write “plain” can, in fact, also be used to write “field”. Even though the Right is inferior, it is still a fine poem, and so I would make this a tie.’
His Majesty responded, ‘The does not correspond to what has been said. You don’t seem to reached a logical conclusion.’
Tadafusa silently bowed his head, and after long while, eventually, said, ‘What the Lady of the Left has said is logical and appropriate.’
‘Well, then, judge again, based on this,’ His Majesty instructed, and the Lady of the Right lost, and was not permitted another composition.
