Left (Tie)
ひとのうへとおもひしものをわがこひになしてやきみがただにやみぬる
| hito no ue to omoishi mono o wa ga koi ni nashite ya kimi ga tada ni ya minuru | Upon me The coals of passion have lain, yet After my love has been So clear, why, my lady Do you seem so calm? |
Mitsune
55
Right
あしまよふなにはのうらにひくふねのつなでながくもこひわたるかな
| ashi mayou naniwa no ura ni hiku fune no tsunade nagaku mo koi wataru kana | Lost among the reeds Of Naniwa Bay, Pulling a boat with Tug-ropes stretching long As my love endures! |
56
Left (Win)
よそにても君をし三輪の市ならば行かふ賤に立もをくれじ
| yoso nite mo kimi o shi miwa no ichi naraba yukikau shizu ni tachi mo okureji | Far away At Miwa Market Had I met you, The peasants going back and forth Would not be arriving late… |
Lord Ari’ie
1197
Right
住わびて世をふる道は知らるとも難波の蘆のかりにだに見ん
| sumiwabite yo o furu michi wa shiraru tomo naniwa no ashi no kari ni dani min | Life is hard, as it is To make one’s way I know, yet At Naniwa the reeds I reap for a brief glimpse of you… |
Jakuren
1198
The Right state: the Left’s poem has no faults to indicate. The Left state: the Right’s poem is not bad.
In judgement: the Left’s ‘at Miwa had I met you’ (kimi o shi miwa no) is elegant, but the final section is lacks force. The Right’s reaping reeds at Naniwa has only a faint sense of a merchant. Thus, the Left’s ‘Miwa Market’ (miwa no ichi) wins.
Left
蘆間分け月にうたひて漕ぐ舟に心ぞまづは乗りうつりぬる
| ashima wake tsuki ni utaite kogu fune ni kokoro zo mazu wa nori’utsurinuru | Parting the reeds, and Singing to the moon, Boats come rowing out – My heart, it is, that is first Aboard and carried away… |
Kenshō
1141
Right (Win)
浪の上にくだるを舟のむやひして月にうたひし妹ぞ戀しき
| nami no ue ni kudaru o fune no muyaishite tsuki ni utaishi imo zo koishiki | Upon the waves, Her boat departs, Vanishing into the mist; That moon-sung Girl is dear to me, indeed! |
The Supernumerary Master of the Empress’ Household Office
1142
The Right state: the Left’s poem lacks much of a conception of pleasure girls. In appeal: the poem was written in the conception of Mochitoki’s Chinese poem on pleasure girls ‘the reed-leaves are fresh in springtime’. The Left state: the Right’s poem has nothing worth mentioning.
In judgement: is the conception of pleasure girls really absent from the Left’s ‘parting the reeds, and singing to the moon’ (ashima wake tsuki ni utaite)? The case certainly cannot rely on ‘the reed-leaves are fresh in springtime’. A Chinese poem expresses its topic in its initial line. It is normal for the introduction of the topic to be vague. Japanese and Chinese poetry have aspects where they are similar, and aspects where they differ. Thus, it is not appropriate to cite a Chinese poem’s broaching of its topic as evidence for a Japanese poem’s content. There are certainly other examples by Mochitoki, such as his overlong line in ‘in a boat atop the waves, but I find the same pleasure in life’. The line about reed-leaves can in no way function as proof. Thus this poem, as ‘an old fisherman sings a single shanty’ could be said to be about an old man. As a result, given the lack of clarity in the poem, it is not possible to accept that it is about a pleasure girl. The Right’s poem concludes ‘that moon-sung girl is dear to me, indeed’ (tsuki ni utaishi imo zo koishiki). The final line seems to be almost pointlessly pedestrian, but the poem is certainly about love for a pleasure girl. The Right must win.
Left (Tie).
足引の山路の秋になる袖はうつろふ人のあらしなりけり
| ashihiki no yamaji no aki ni naru sode wa utsurou hito no arashi narikeri |
Leg wearying Mountain trails in autumn Have my sleeves become, For she fades from my life, as A departing storm… |
Lord Sada’ie.
971
Right.
この世には吉野の山の奧にだにありとはつらき人に知られじ
| kono yo ni wa yoshino no yama no oku ni dani ari to wa tsuraki hito ni shirareji |
Within this world, were I In the Yoshino mountains’ Heart, even so That cruel One would know it not! |
Jakuren.
972
The Right state: the Left’s poem does not refer to a specific mountain – we wonder whether this is acceptable? In addition, ‘in autumn have my sleeves’ (aki ni naru sode) and ‘she…as a storm’ (hito no arashi) is difficult to understand. The Left state: the Right’s poem has no faults to indicate.
In judgement: in connection with the criticism made of the Left’s poem, I do not feel that it is always essential to refer to a specific mountain. The other matters are, indeed, difficult to understand. The underlying sense of the Right’s poem seems overly pretentious. It is reminiscent of the tales of Boyi and Shuqi, or of Jie Zhitui, and Mount Shouyang and Mount Mian. Really, it does put me in mind of the Four White-Headed Recluses of Mount Shang, where it says, ‘They emerged due to the plans of Zhang Liang, made for Huidi, who said, “Though I may lie down with the greybeards, enjoying Mount Shang myself, all, in the end, are people under Zhang Liang.”’ It is extremely difficult, in the end, to make these sentiments relevant to our own land. Thus, I find it inappropriate to accept the content of the Right’s poem. The Left’s poem has its faults, too, so cursorily, I make this round a tie.
A futher poem sent by the Elder Maiden of Ishikawa to Ōtomo no Tanushi.
我が聞きし耳によく似る葦の末の足やむ我が背つとめ給ぶべし
| wa ga kikisi mimi ni yoku niru asi no ure no asi yamu wa ga se tutometabubesi |
As I have heard So it does seem to be: As the reed tips Pierce your legs, my darling, Get well soon! |
The above poem was presented by the Elder Maiden of Ishikawa to Chūrō, when she visited him on hearing that his legs were troubling him.