あふせをば流れてとこそたのめしかいかにとだにも音なしのたき
ause oba nagarete to koso tanomeshi ka ika ni to dani mo otonashi no taki Our meeting, like the rapids, Will flow on—can I Trust in that? However much they seem The silenced cataract of Otonashi…
Lady Ki 39
In reply.
すみわぶる名をながさじとつつむまにしばしよどむぞ音なしの滝
sumiwaburu na no nagasaji to tsutsumu ma ni shibashi yodomu zo otonashi no taki Living on in sorrow and Letting no word of it flow out— Thus wrapped up Briefly stilled has been The cataract of Otonashi.
Supernumerary Minor Captain Morotoki 40
つらしともいざやいかがはいはし水あふせまだきにたゆる心は
tsurashi to mo iza ya ikaga wa iwashimizu ause madaki ni tayuru kokoro wa How cruel! Why as Spring waters rushing from the rocks did Our meeting swiftly Did you wish to end?
Kazusa, in service to the Empress 23
In reply
世世ふともたえじとぞ思ふ神がきの岩ねをくぐる水の心は
yo yo futomo taeji to zo omou kamigaki no iwane o kuguru mizu no kokoro wa Age upon age may pass, yet Never shall we end, I feel, as from The sacred precinct’s Rocky roots flow Waters—that is my heart!
24
数ならで世に住江のみをつくしいつを待つともなき身なりけり
kazu narade yo ni sumie no mi o tsukushi itsu o matsu tomo nakimi narikeri Countless are The generations spent at Sumie, with The channel buoys: exhausted What should I await but To be dead.
Master of the Left Capital Office Toshiyori 15
In reply
ながれてもあふせは絶えじ住江の身をつくしてもくちはててなん
nagaretemo ause wa taeji sumie no mi o tsukushitemo kuchihatetenan Flowing on, yet The rapids’ meetings will not cease; At Sumie with The channel buoys, you may be exhausted, but Would you rot away…
Kazusa, in service to the Empress 16
Channel buoys. Image by Claudia Thorn from Pixabay
Left.
つれなしと人をぞさらに思ひ河逢ふ瀬を知らぬ身を恨ても
tsurenashi to
hito o zo sara ni
omoigawa
ause o shiranu
mi o uramitemo
How cruel
She is, I ever feel,
My thoughts a river;
No rushed meetings between us –
I hate myself for that, and yet…
Lord Kanemune
991
Right (Win).
遥なる程とぞ聞し衣川かた敷く袖の名こそ有けれ
harukanaru
hodo to zo kikishi
koromogawa
katashiku sode no
na koso arikere
Far, far away
Lies, I have heard,
The River Robe:
For my single spread sleeve
How apt that name is!
Lord Takanobu
992
The Right state: we find the Left’s poem unconvincing. The Left state: the Right’s poem lacks any faults.
In judgement: in the Left’s poem, ‘my thoughts a river’ (omoigawa ) is certainly not unconvincing. The latter section of the Right’s poem sounds fine. It should win.
'Simply moving and elegant'