Round Twelve
Left (Tie)
あらし吹くまくずが原に鳴く鹿は恨みてのみや妻をこふらん
| arashi fuku makuzu ga hara ni naku shika wa uramite nomi ya tsuma o kouran | Storm winds blow Across the arrowroot upon the plain Where bells a stag— Might it be with bitterness, alone, that He yearns for a mate? |
Shun’e
47
Right
山里は妻こひかぬる鹿の音にさもあらぬ我もねられざりけり
| yamazato wa tsuma koikanuru shika no ne ni sa mo aranu ware mo nerarezarikeri | In a mountain retreat, Filled with too much yearning for his mate A stag bells out— ‘Tis not true of me, yet Still I cannot sleep. |
Lay Priest Master
48
The Left’s stag’s bell seeming to despise the arrowroot field and the Right’s inability to sleep on hearing a stag belling at a mountain retreat are both evocative of lonely sadness and neither sounds at all inferior to the other in the depths of the emotion they convey, so I find myself quite unable to distinguish between them.
玉さかに相坂山の真葛原まだうらわかし恨みはてじな
| tamasaka ni aisakayama no makuzuwara mada urawakashi uramihateji na | By chance, On Aisaka Mountain The fields of arrowroot are Still so young— O, do not end up despising them! |
Lady Tsu, in service to the Former Kamo Virgin
33
夏山の下はふくずのうらわかみまだきに露の心おくらん
| natsuyama no shita hau kuzu no urawakami madaki ni tsuyu no kokoro okuran | On the summer mountains The arrowroot, creeping beneath, Seems so young that Swiftly will the dewdrops Fall upon its heart. |
The Minister of Justice
34
Left.
君や憂き空やはつらきともすればあはれあな憂とうち眺めつつ
| kimi ya uki sora ya wa tsuraki tomo sureba aware ana u to uchinagametsutsu |
Is it your coldness, Or the sky’s cruelty? No, it is neither, that Feeling the cold Keeps me gazing at the heavens… |
Lord Ari’ie
767
Right (Win).
もの思ふ心の秋の夕まぐれ真葛が原に風渡るなり
| mono’omou kokoro no aki no yūmagure makuzu ga hara ni kaze watarunari |
Sunk in lonely thought Am I this autumn Evening: A field of arrowroot Blown over by the wind… |
Nobusada
768
The Right state: we find no faults to indicate in the Left’s poem. The Left state: the Right’s poem is commonplace, and the ending lacks force.
In judgement: although the Left’s poem reminds me of ‘Feeling the pain will I spend my time?’ (aware ana u to sugushitsuru kana), ‘the sky’s cruelty?’ (sora ya tsuraki) is also elegant [yū]. However, the expression ‘cold’ (u) appears in both the initial and final sections of the poem. The Right’s ‘field of arrowroot blown over by the wind’ (makuzu ga hara ni kaze watarunari) is charming. I don’t belief the ending lacks force. Both poems are fine, but as the Left contains a fault, the Right wins.
Left (Win).
夢かさは野邊の千草の面影はほのぼの招く薄ばかりや
| yume ka sa wa nobe no chigusa no omokage wa honobono maneku susuki bakari ya |
Was it all a dream? Across the fields a thousand blooms Did meet my gaze; now Dimly beckoning Are there only fronds of miscanthus grass… |
513
Right.
むら薄たえだえ野邊に招けども下延ふ葛ぞ恨果てぬる
| murasusuki taedae nobe ni manekedomo shita hau kuzu zo uramihatenuru |
The clumps of miscanthus grass From time to time across the fields Do wave, yet The creeping arrowroot beneath Holds all my regrets… |
514
The Right state that the initial line of the Left’s poem is ‘awkward’ [amari nari], and that they cannot approve of the final use of ya. The Left wonder about the appropriateness of ‘Holds all my regrets’ (uramihatenuru).
Shunzei’s judgement: The Gentlemen of the Right have a number of criticisms of the Left’s poem. However, with careful consideration, while the poem is not tasteful in its entirety [subete yū ni shimo arazaredo], the initial line does not seem that strange, and the final ya is fine, is it not? The Right’s ‘The clumps of miscanthus grass from time to time across the fields do wave’ is tasteful [yū naru], but all that connects with ‘arrowroot’, is the subsequent ‘seeing what lies beneath’. ‘Arrowroot’ is too briefly in the poem for this. The initial and final sections of the Left’s poem have been criticised by the Gentlemen of the Right, but they are not without purpose. Thus, the Left wins.
Left (Tie).
秋風の吹も強らぬ眞葛原夏の氣色に猶かへる哉
| aki kaze no fuki mo tsuyoranu makuzuwara natsu no keshiki ni nao kaeru kana |
The autumn wind Blows with such little strength that The field of arrowroot To its summer scene Has yet returned. |
305
Right (Tie).
秋來てもまだひとへなる衣手に厭はぬ程の風ぞ吹なる
| aki kitemo mada hitoenaru koromode ni itowanu hodo no kaze zo fukunaru |
Autumn has come, and yet For my still single-layered Sleeves There is no respite in The breath of wind |
306
The Right state, ‘The expression “little strength” (tsuyoranu) is particularly grating on the ear.’ The Left respond, ‘And what are we really to make of the expression, “no respite in the breath of wind” (itowanu hodo no kaze)? Even in “O, blow my cares away,/First breeze of Autumn!” (kokorosite Fuke aki no Fatukaze), one does not get a sense of dislike for the wind. Furthermore, the core sense of the poem seems inappropriately chilly for the topic.’
Shunzei’s judgement is that, ‘the criticisms of both teams have merit. The Left’s “little strength” is as stated. As for the spirit of the Right’s poem, does not “O, blow my cares away” (kokorosite Fuke) mean that the coolness brings no respite? While the spirit of “Lingering Heat” certainly contains the key sense that things have become slightly cooler, as I said in the last round. In any case, this round is a tie.’
Left.
あさなあさなあへず散りしく葛の葉に置そふ霜の秋ぞすくなき
| asana asana aezu chirishiku kuzu no ha no okisou shimo no aki zo sukunaki |
Morning after morning Never ceasing, scatter Arrowroot leaves, Burdened by frost: There’s little left, of Autumn now. |
77
Right (Win)
秋はいぬ夕日がくれの峰の松四方の木の葉の後もあひ見ん
| aki wa inu yūhigakure no mine no matsu yomo no ko no ha no nochi mo aimin |
Autumn is now gone; The evening sun concealing Peaks, topped with pines, About them, fallen leaves: An aftermath we’ll watch together. |
78
