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梅が枝の花にこつたふ鶯の声さへにほふ春の曙
| mume ga e no Fana ni ko tutaFu uguFisu no kowe saFe niFoFu Faru no akebono | A branch of plum Blossom tells me this: The bush-warbler’s Very voice does shine at The dawn in springtime. |
Cloistered Prince Shukaku
Tag Archives: akebono
Eikyū hyakushu 28
Eikyū hyakushu 25
Minishū 2063
Love IV: 24
Left (Win).
戀詫びて我と眺めし夕暮も馴るれば人の形見がほなる
| koiwabite ware to nagameshi yūgure mo narureba hito no katamigao naru |
Suffering with love I have gazed Upon the evening dark, So used to it that it Has become your keepsake! |
Lord Sada’ie.
827
Right.
明ぼののあはればかりは忍ぶれど今日をば出でず春の夕暮
| akebono no aware bakari wa shinoburedo kyō oba idezu haru no yūgure |
The dawn’s Sadness, I do just Bear, but, oh, Today, it will never come – The evening in springtime! |
Nobusada.
828
The Right state: when one understands the purport of the Left’s poem, it comes as a revelation. The Left state: in the Right’s poem we are unable to grasp the sense of ‘it will never come’ (idezu). In addition, the conception of Love seems lacking.
In judgement: both poems ‘evenings’ are support by little diction, yet the conception of Love is profound, indeed, such that my own shallow knowledge finds it difficult to grasp. However, the Right’s ‘Today, it will never come’ (kyō oba idezu) certainly does seem difficult to comprehend. I would have to say that the Left’s ‘So used to it that it’ (narureba hito no) is marginally superior.
Love IV: 11
Left.
雲かゝり重なる山を越えもせず隔てまさるは明くる日の影
| kumo kakari kasanaru yama o koe mo sezu hedate masaru wa akuru hi no kage |
Trailed with cloud, The layered mountains I have not gone beyond, but What stands between us most is The light of the brightening sun. |
Lord Sada’ie.
801
Right (Win).
いさ命思ひは夜半に盡き果てぬ夕も待たじ秋の曙
| isa inochi omoi wa yowa ni tsukihatenu yūbe mo mataji aki no akebono |
I know not what’s to become of my life! All my thoughts of love in the hours of night Are quite exhausted, and I cannot wait for evening On this autumn dawn… |
Nobusada.
802
The Right state: from ‘Trailed with cloud’ (kumo kakari) to ‘The light of the brightening sun’ (akuru hi no kage), all is entirely unacceptable, is it not? The Left state: we wonder about the acceptability of ‘I know not what’s to become of my life’ (isa inochi).
In judgement: the Right have said that the Left’s poem is unacceptable from beginning to end, but can one really go so far as to say that? Furthermore, the Left query whether ‘I know not what’s to become of my life’, but I wonder whether I can recall this phrase being that bad. However, one is accustomed to saying that ‘this spring dawn’ (haru no akebono) is elegant, and although ‘this autumn dawn’ (aki no akebono) is a modern expression, the faults of the Left’s poem are particularly problematic, so the Right should win.
Autumn III: 23
Left.
初霜や秋をこめても置きつらん今朝色變る野路の篠原
| hatsujimo ya aki o kometemo okitsuran kesa iro kawaru noji no shinohara |
Have the first frosts In the midst of autumn Fallen? This morning has brought a change of hue To the arrow-bamboo groves in Noji! |
465
Right (Win).
いかに又秋は夕と眺め來て花に霜置く野邊の明ぼの
| ika ni mata aki wa yūbe to nagamekite hana ni shimo oku nobe no akebono |
How much more striking Than an autumn evening Spent gazing, is The frost fallen on the flowers In the fields at dawn! |
466
Neither team finds any fault with the other’s poem this round and say as much.
Shunzei’s judgement: The Left’s ‘frost’ (shimo) on the ‘arrow-bamboo groves in Noji’ (noji no shinohara) is certainly elegant [yū ni wa haberubeshi]. The Right’s ‘frost fallen on the flowers’ (hana ni oku shimo) is, too; although there is no difference in formal quality [uta no sama wa ikuhodo sabetsu naku] between them, ‘frost fallen on the flowers’ at ‘dawn’ (akebono) is more arresting [midokoro ya haberu] than ‘arrow-bamboo groves’.
Spring II: 30
Left (Tie).
さやかなる秋にもまされあはれかな月影かすむ有明の空
| sayakanaru aki no mo masare aware kana tsuki kage kasumu ariake no sora |
The clarity of Autumn, too, is splendid and Moving, indeed, I feel in The hazy moonlight from The daybreak sky. |
119
Right (Tie).
今はとてたのむの雁もうちわびぬ朧月夜の明ぼのゝ空
| ima wa tote tanomu no kari mo uchiwabinu oborozukiyo no akebono no sora |
‘Now we must return,’ The field resting geese Lament, under the Misty moonlit Dawning sky. |
120
The Right team once again rate the Left’s poem as ‘satisfying’, while the Left say the Right’s is ‘especially satisfying. ’
Shunzei’s judgement is that ‘the Left’s “hazy moonlight from the daybreak sky” (tsuki kage kasumu ariake no sora) and the Right’s “Misty moonlit dawning sky” (oborozukiyo no akebono no sora) are both splendid. It is difficult, indeed, to decide between them. Another excellent tie.’
Spring II: 29
Left (Tie).
見ぬ夜まで思殘さぬながめより昔にかすむ春の明ぼの
| minu yo made omoinokosanu nagame yori mukashi ni kasumu haru no akebono |
Invisible, in the past There is nothing to regret, Gazing, Long ago upon the hazy Springtime dawn. |
117
Right (Tie).
思ひ出でばおなじながめにかへるまで心に殘れ春のあけぼの
| omoideba onaji nagame ni kaeru made kokoro ni nokore haru no akebono |
Were I to think back, Until this selfsame sight Should return, Let it in my heart remain: This springtime dawn. |
118
Both teams praise the other’s poems this round, saying they are ‘satisifying.’
Shunzei says, ‘Both poems are on ‘spring dawn’, the Left ‘long ago hazed’ (mukashi ni kasumu) and the Right ‘remaining in the heart’ (kokoro ni nokore): both are equally charming in form and sense. This is a good tie.’
Spring II: 28
Left.
霞かは花鶯にとぢられて春にこもれる宿の明ぼの
| kasumi ka wa hana uguisu ni tojirarete haru ni komoreru yado no akebono |
Is this haze? No, in blossom and warbler song Am I sealed; Shut in by springtime Is my home this dawn. |
115
Right (Win).
霞立つ末の松山ほのぼのと浪にはなるゝ橫雲の空
| kasumi tatsu sue no matsuyama honobono to nami ni hanaruru yokogumo no sora |
The hazes rise Around the pine-clad peak of Sué; Dimly Departing from the waves, Narrow clouds trail across the sky. |
116
The Right team have no particular remarks to make about the Left’s poem this round, but the Left state that the Right’s poem is ‘most satisfying.’
Shunzei’s judgement is: ‘The Left’s “Is this haze?” (kasumi ka wa) seems like it wants to be “Is this just haze?” (kasumi nomi ka wa). “In blossom and warbler song am I sealed” (hana uguisu ni tojirarete) and “my home this dawn” (yado no akebono) remind one of “the lofty palace of Shinsei stands behind warblers and blossom” and this is excellent. As for the Right’s poem, this is particularly moving, with its depiction of the scene “departing from the waves, narrow clouds trail across the sky” (nami ni hanaruru yokogumo no sora), recalling “the pine-clad peak of Sué” (sue no matsuyama). The poem does start with “hazes rise” (kasumi tatsu) and having “haze” (kasumi), “wave” (nami) and “cloud” (kumo) means the poem is somewhat overburdened with similar imagery. “Narrow clouds trail across the sky”, though, does make a particularly strong impression, and the Left’s poem is merely satisfying, as has been said. Thus, “my home this dawn” must lose, I think.’