Tag Archives: bay

Sumiyoshi-sha uta’awase kaō ni-nen 47

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.

Sumiyoshi-sha uta’awase kaō ni-nen 34

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.

KKS IX: 417

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

Sumiyoshi-sha uta’awase kaō ni-nen 24

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

SZS XX: 1261

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

Sumiyoshi-sha uta’awase kaō ni-nen 19

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