Composed on plovers on the road to the barrier.
あはぢしまかよふちどりの鳴く声にいくよねざめぬすまの関もり
| awajishima kayou chidori no naku koe ni ikuyo nezamenu suma no sekimori | Around Awaji Isle The plovers fly about; Their calling cries Start him awake on how many nights— The barrier warden of Suma? |
Minamoto no Kanemasa
Composed when he went to Michinoku.
ゆふさればしほかぜこしてみちのくの野田のたまがは千鳥鳴くなり
| yū sareba shiokaze koshite michinoku no noda no tamagawa chidori naku nari | When the evening comes Tidewinds cross to Michinoku, where At the Tama River in Noda The plovers are crying. |
Monk Nōin
Left (Tie)
あふことのきみにたえにしわがみよりいくらのなみだながれいでぬらむ
| au koto no kimi ni taenishi wa ga mi yori ikura no namida nagare’idenuramu | My meetings with You, my lord, have ceased, and From my flesh What a torrent of tears Flow out! |
Ise
59
Right
きみこひのあまりにしかばしのぶれどひとのしるらんことのわびしさ
| kimi koi no amari nishikaba shinoburedo hito no shiruran koto no wabishiki | Loving you Beyond all measure, I kept it secret, yet That folk seem to know Is a cause of heartache. |
Tsurayuki
60
On hearing His Highness, the Prince of the Right remark in irritation that the Left’s poem had appealed to His Majesty’s heart, His Majesty composed
ゆきかへりちどりなくなるはまゆふのこころへだてておもふものかは
| yukikaeri chidori naku naru hamayū no kokoro hedatete omou mono ka wa | Going back and forth Plovers cry from The beach among the spider lilies Do their hearts distinguish Do you think? |
His Majesty
61
Left (Win)
鴨のゐる入江の浪を心にて胸と袖とにさはぐ戀かな
| kamo no iru irie no nami o kokoro nite mune to sode to ni sawagu koi kana |
Ducks flock on The inlet’s waves Within my heart, so My breast and sleeves both Are raucous with love! |
Lord Sada’ie
1055
Right
佐保川の霧のまよひの程だにも妻もとむとて千鳥鳴夜を
| saogawa no kiri no mayoi no hodo dani mo tsuma motomu tote chidori naku yo o |
To the vernal river: The mist brings confusion And in its midst, Seeking a mate, A plover cries at night… |
Jakuren
1056
The Gentlemen of the Right state: we wonder about the appropriateness of ‘my breast and sleeves both are raucous’ (mune to sode to ni sawagu)? The Left, in appeal, state: there is ‘the river-mouths of my sleeves’ (sode no minato) and ‘when I think, upon my breast’ (omoeba mune ni) so linking ‘breast’ and ‘sleeve’ is entirely uncontroversial. The Gentlemen of the Left state: we find no faults to mention in the Right’s poem.
In judgement: I understand the views of the Left’s poem held by both teams. It has also been said that the Right’s poem lacks faults. However, in ‘seeking a mate, a plover cries at night’ (tsuma motomu tote chidori naku yo o) only the two words ‘at night’ (yo o) have any conception of love. The remainder of the poem is simply about plovers, so there is little of love about it. ‘Breast and sleeves both’ (mune to sode to) should win.
Left
玉章のたえだえになるたぐひかな雲井に雁の見えみ見えずみ
| tamazusa no taedae ni naru tagui kana kumoi ni kari no miemi miezumi |
His jewelled missives Have become intermittent It seems, just like The geese up in the skies, Glimpsed, and then not seen at all… |
Lord Ari’ie
1051
Right (Win)
思かぬる夜はの袂に風ふけて涙の河に千鳥鳴くなり
| omoikanuru yowa no tamoto ni kaze fukete namida no kawa ni chidori nakunari |
Unable to bear my love, At midnight my sleeve is Stirred by the wind, and Upon a river of tears The plovers are crying… |
Nobusada
1052
The Gentlemen of the Right state: we find no faults to mention in the Left’s poem. The Gentlemen of the Left state: we wonder about the reason for emphasising ‘upon a river of tears the plovers’ (namida no kawa ni chidori).
In judgement: the Left on a lover’s letters becoming intermittent, and saying ‘the geese up in the skies, glimpsed, and then not seen at all’ (kumoi ni kari no miemi miezumi) has a charming conception, and elegant diction. The Right, saying ‘at midnight my sleeve is stirred by the wind’ (yowa no tamoto ni kaze fukete) and continuing ‘the plovers are crying’ (chidori nakunari) has a configuration and diction which sounds fine, too. The criticisms of the Gentlemen of the Left are nothing more than ‘a fisherman fishing beneath his pillow’! Although the conception of the Left’s poem is charming, the configuration of the Right’s poem is slightly more notable, so it should win.