たごのうらの荒磯の玉も浪の上にうきてたゆたふ恋もするかな
| tago no ura no ara’iso no tamamo nami no ue ni ukite tayutou koi mo suru kana | In the bay of Tago By the rocky shore, gemweed Upon the waves Does float, adrift With my love for you! |
485

Round Twenty-Two
Left
いなむしろしきつのうらのまつかぜはもりくるをりぞしぐれともしる
| inamushiro shikitsu no ura no matsukaze wa morikuru ori zo shigure to mo shiru | A straw mat spread At Shikitsu Bay, where when On the wind through the pines Come dripping droplets I know a shower is falling! |
Lord Kiyosuke
93
Right (Win)
おほぞらもみやこのかたをしのぶらしこよひはことにうちしぐれつつ
| ōzora mo miyako no kata o shinoburashi koyoi wa koto ni uchishiguretsutsu | The heavens, too, Of the capital Think fondly, it seems, For tonight is especially Filled with constant showers… |
Lord Sanetsuna
94
The poem of the Left appears to have a pleasant conception, blending showers with the wind through the pines and saying, ‘Come dripping droplets / I know a shower is falling!’, but it appears that the straw mat has only been spread because of the reference to Shikitsu [spreading] Bay. Considering the actual nature of a straw mat, however, I do not feel that the sense links with Shikitsu Bay, although it would be charming if sleeping on a journey in the shade of the willows beside a river, or even in a hut among the rice-fields. I do not feel it is appropriate to spread a straw mat beneath the pines at Sumiyoshi. In addition, it is only the straw mat here which has the conception of a journey—how should one feel about that? The configuration of the Right’s poem, beginning with ‘The heavens, too’ and following with ‘Of the capital / Think fondly, it seems’, I would say is a poem for a poetry match. While a counter-argument has been made about the Left’s poem, it’s really asking for the impossible, isn’t it. So, I impose victory for the Right.




Round Nine
Left (Win)
うらさむくしぐるるよはのたびごろもきしのはにふにいたくにほひぬ
| ura samuku shigururu yowa no tabigoromo kishi no hanyū ni itaku nioinu | The bay is cold with Midnight showers, as My traveller’s robe With the shore’s ochre clay Is deeply stained. |
Taifu
67
Right
おもへただみやこのうちのねざめだにしぐるるそらはあはれならずや
| omoe tada miyako no uchi no nezame dani shigururu sora wa aware narazu ya | Simply think of me, when Within the capital You start from sleep— A showery sky is Sad, isn’t it? |
Sadanaga
68
While configuration of the Left’s poem, saying ‘With the shore’s ochre clay / Is deeply stained’ feels crude, it does appear to be in the style of the Myriad Leaves. As for the Right’s poem, its conception is good, but starting, ‘Simply think of me’ begs the question of who this is said to. Such diction is used in poetry exchanges or love poems, in particular. The Left’s poem is most likely superior.


When he had gone to a hot spring in Tajima province, he stayed in a place called Futami Bay and, while eating their evening meal, his companions were composing poetry, so he composed.
ゆふづくよおぼつかなきを玉匣ふたみの浦は曙てこそ見め
| yuFudukuyo obotukanaki wo tamakusige Futami no ura Fa akete koso mime | On an early moonlit evening How difficult to see A jewelled comb box— Lid lifted once more Futami Bay I’ll see with the dawn! |
Fujiwara no Kanesuke
Left
あまくだるかみもひさしくみやゐして月ものどかにすみよしのうら
| amakudaru kami mo hisashiku miya’ishite tsuki mo nodoka ni sumiyoshi no ura | Descending from Heaven, The Deity, too, eternally Manifests here, where The moon, too, is calm Above the bay of Sumiyoshi. |
Venerable Dharma Eye Shōken[1]
47
Right (Win)
かみよよりたぐひなしともすみよしのまつやこよひの月をみるらむ
| kamiyo yori taguinashi tomo sumiyoshi no matsu ya koyoi no tsuki o miruramu | Since the Age of Gods Is there nothing to compare with, At Sumiyoshi, The pines tonight with The moon filling my gaze? |
Novice Jakuchō[2]
48
The Left appears to have a truly charming conception and configuration, but beginning with ‘The Deity, too, eternally’ and then saying ‘The moon, too, is calm’ and repeating the same word is discordant. The Right, in addition to having no particular faults to mention, has an extremely pleasant-sounding configuration with ‘The pines tonight’. Thus, I make this a win for the Right.


[1] Hōgen kashōi Shōkaku 法眼和尚位静賢
[2] Shami Jakuchō沙弥寂超
Composed when Middle Counsellor Ienari had gone to Sumiyoshi and they were composing poems.
神世よりつもりのうらにみやゐしてへぬらんとしのかぎりしらずも
| kamiyo yori tsumori no ura ni miya’ishite henuran toshi no kagiri shirazu mo | Since the Age of Gods At the Bay of Tsumori Has there been a shrine; The years it will endure Know no bounds at all! |
Major Counsellor Takasue

Left
さえわたる月のひかりやすみよしのまつのはしのぎふれるしらゆき
| saewataru tsuki no hikari ya sumiyoshi no matsu no ha shinogi fureru shirayuki | So chill The moon’s light, that Sumiyoshi’s Pines’ needles seem weighed down With fallen snow. |
Grand Dharma Master Yūsei[i]
37
Right (Win)
月のすむなにはのうらのけしきにはかみのこころもたえずやあるらむ
| tsuki no sumu naniwa no ura no keshiki ni wa kami no kokoro mo taezu ya aruramu | The moon rising above The bay of Naniwa— At the scene Even the Deity’s heart Must be unable to endure… |
Lord Fujiwara no Norimori
Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade
Without Office[ii]
38
The poem of the Left appears pleasant in configuration and sequencing, but it lacks any profundity of thought and simply seems to flow easily. The Right’s poem appears to have some conception, managing to follow ‘Having a sensitive heart: / To such a one would I show / The land of Tsu’[1] and also seems to sound as if it conveys the sense of the old poem about a man finding the bay of Naniwa unbearably fine[2]. With that being said, expanding this to the Deity’s heart as well is charming. Thus, the Right wins.




[1] Sent to someone’s residence, when he was in Tsu province around the beginning of the year. こころあらむ人にみせばやつのくにのなにはわたりのはるのけしきを kokoro aramu / hito ni miseba ya / tsu no kuni no / naniwa watari no / haru no keshiki o ‘I would to a sensitive / Soul show / The land of Tsu / Around Naniwa— / Truly, the scenery of spring!’ Dharma Master Dōin (GSIS I: 43)
[2] Composed as a spring poem, when he presented a hundred-poem sequence. 心なきわが身なれども津の国の難波の春にたへずも有るかな kokoro naki / wagami naredomo / tsu no kuni no / naniwa no haru ni / taezu mo aru kana ‘Insensitive / Is my sorry self, yet / In the land of Tsu / Naniwa in springtime is / Unbearably fine!’ Fujiwara no Suemichi (SZS II: 106/Kyūan hyakushu 413)
[i] Daihōshi Yūsei大法師祐盛
[ii] San’i jūgoige Fujiwara ason Norimori 散位従五位下藤原朝臣憲盛