Round Seven
Left (Both Judges – Win)
音にさへ袂をぬらす時雨かな槙の板屋のよはの寝覚に
| oto ni sae tamoto o nurasu shigure kana maki no itaya ni yowa no nezame ni | Even the sound Does soak my sleeves with A shower Striking my roof of cedar boards, Awaking at midnight… |
Lord Sadanobu
13
Right
しぐれとて柞の杜にたちよれば木のはとともに降りかかるかな
| shigure tote hahaso no mori ni tachiyoreba ko no ha to tomo ni furikakaru kana | When with a shower’s fall Within the oak forest I head to stand Together with the leaves, It strikes me as it falls! |
Lord Munekuni
14
Toshiyori states: the first poem’s composition on one’s sleeves getting soaked on hearing a sound is extremely charming. It sounds like that’s really how it is. The latter poem, too, is smooth, and the final line appears to have had some thought put into it, so I dread having to say that the first poem wins.
Mototoshi states: ‘a shower at midnight upon a roof of cedar boards’ is a particularly superlative image, and that this would drench one’s sleeves is also extremely charming. While ‘the oak forest’ does not appear bad, it’s not that remarkable, and ‘waking at midnight’ is something that certainly occurs, I feel.
Round Six
Left (M – Tie)
さもこそは槙のまやぶき薄からめもるばかりにもうつ時雨かな
| samo koso wa maki no mayabuki usukarame moru bakari ni mo utsu shigure kana | Truly, A roof of cedar boughs Seems scanty, for It simply leaks when Struck by a shower! |
Lord Morotoshi
11
Right (T – Win)
木の葉のみ染むるかとこそおもひしに時雨は人のみにしみにけり
| ko no ha nomi somuru ka to koso omoishi ni shigure wa hito no mi ni shiminikeri | ‘Is it the leaves upon the trees alone It dyes?’ I wondered once, but A shower on folk’s Flesh does leave a mark… |
Lord Masamitsu
12
Toshiyori states: the first poem deliberately starts with ‘A roof of cedar boughs’ and then concludes with ‘Struck by a shower’ which is vague. It does sound like the poet might have had ‘the lonely sighing sound of rain beating against my window’ in mind when composing. In any case, this is something which would have been better avoided. If he wished to compose on this sort of thing, and had done so without this element, then the poem would not be unpleasant. As for the Right, well, this does sound somewhat scanty! Still, what kind of colour might the poet’s flesh be marked? If it was the colour of the leaves, then this would be pretentious, wouldn’t it. If he wanted to refer to the hue of the wind in the pines, then why didn’t he say so? As a composition about a shower, though, this sounds slightly better.
Mototoshi states: having such a thin roof of cedar boughs struck by a passing shower feels frightening for the people under it. At the beginning of the world, rain as thick as axles fell, I hear—what a terrifying shower that must have been! The expression ‘rain beating against my window’ occurs in a poem from Cathay, referring, it seems, to rain blown by the wind horizontally striking one’s fence. Thus, it does sound extremely moving to compose about rains striking one’s window and keeping one awake, but, then again, while it’s certainly true that showers dye the treetops on the mountains in all directions, what sort of mark would they leave on a person’s flesh? It sounds like the old tale of the well-warden’s sign, doesn’t it! This round, both poems are about the same.
Round Twenty-Four
Left (Tie)
なにごとをまつとはなしにすみよしのかみにこころをかけぬまぞなき
| nanigoto o matsu to wa nashi ni sumiyoshi no kami ni kokoro o kakenu ma zo naki | Nothing in particular Have I to expect, but Sumiyoshi’s Deity within my heart Dwells not for no moments at all! |
Shōkaku
147
Right
いたづらにおいにけるかないにしへの人のうゑけむすぎならなくに
| itazura ni oinikeru naka inishie no hito no uekemu sugi naranaku ni | How brief it’s been, but I have grown old, though By ancient Folk a planted Cedar tree I’m not… |
Jakuchō
148
The conception of the Left’s poem, saying ‘Have I to expect, but’ sounds extremely charming, but the configuration of the poem of the Right, composing ‘Folk a planted / Cedar tree I’m not’ also appears pleasant. Thus, these tie.
夜もすがら水鶏よりけに鳴く鳴くぞ真木の戸口に叩きわびつる
| yomosugara kuina yori keni naku naku zo maki no toguchi ni tataki wabitsuru | All night long Cries the water rail, but even more Did I weep and weep again At your cedar door I knocked, but found only grief! |
Fujiwara no Michinaga
Left.
心さへまた外人になり果てば何か名殘の夢の通路
| kokoro sae mata yosobito ni narihateba nanika nagori no yume no kayoiji |
Should even our hearts Once more strangers To each other become, No trace at all would remain On my path of dreams… |
Lord Sada’ie
755
Right.
思侘びあはれ幾夜か槇の戸をしばしといひて月を見つらん
| omoiwabi aware iku yo ka maki no to o shibashi to iite tsuki o mitsuran |
Grieving and Sighing, how many nights Has my cedar door been Ajar For me to gaze upon the moon? |
Jakuren
756
Both Left and Right state the opposing team’s poem is not bad.
In judgement: the conceptions of the Left’s ‘path of dreams’ (yume no kayoiji) and the Right’s ‘cedarwood door’ (maki no to) in gazing at the moon, are both elegant. The round should tie.
Left (Tie).
あらし吹月の主は我ひとり花こそ宿と人も尋ぬれ
| arashi fuku tsuki no aruji wa ware hitori hana koso yado to hito mo tazunure |
As the wild wind blows, The master, gazing at the moon, Is me, in solitude; The blossoms and the dwelling, both, Are what folk come to visit! |
181
Right (Tie).
うきよりは住みよかりけりと計よ跡なき霜に杉たてる庭
| uki yori wa sumi yokarikeri to bakari yo ato naki shimo ni sugi tateru niwa |
The cruelties of the world Make it the best place to live, They say: No footfalls mar the frost on My garden, where the cedar stands. |
182
