Round Ten
Left (Win)
数ならぬ深山がくれを尋ねてぞ心の末の花も見るべき
| kazu naranu miyamagakure o tazunete zo kokoro no sue no hana mo mirubeki | Not for many, but Hidden deep within the mountains, I go seeking for My heart’s final desire: Catching sight of a blossom. |
The Former Minister of the Centre
19
Right
まがひこし雲をばよそに吹きなして峰の桜ににほふ春風
| magaikoshi kumo o ba yoso ni fukinashite mine no sakura ni niou harukaze | I had mistaken The clouds far away A’blowing, for Cherries on the peaks Scenting the breeze of spring. |
Kozaishō
20
Both Left and Right sound elegant, yet still the hue of ‘my heart’s final desire: blossom’ is something I can visualise—thus, it wins.
Round Three
Left (Win)
春の夜のあくる霞の立田山これや神代の衣なるらん
| haru no yo no akuru kasumi no tatsutayama kore ya kamiyo no koromo naruran | At a spring night’s Dawn the haze around Tatsuta Mountain— Is this how in the age of gods Raiment might have been? |
Supernumerary Major Counsellor Moto’ie
5
Right
朝霞雲居をかけて見わたせばいたりいたらぬ山の端もなし
| asagasumi kumoi o kakete miwataseba itari itaranu yama no ha mo nashi | When, upon the morning haze Draping from the clouds, I turn my gaze, it Spread out, and fails to reach, Not a single mountain’s edge. |
Nobunari, Senior Third Rank
6
Both Left and Right are difficult to tell apart, yet the Left’s ‘clothing of the Age of Gods’ would seem to be superior.
When he presented a Hundred Poem Sequence to Former Emperor Sutoku.
秋かぜにたなびく雲のたえまよりもれいづる月のかげのさやけさ
| akikaze ni tanabiku kumo no taema yori more’izuru tsuki no kage no sayakesa | The autumn wind Streams clouds, and From gaps between Leaks the moon’s Light, so clear and bright. |
Master of the Left Capital Office Akisuke
For the place where Nunohiki Falls was painted, on a screen in the Saishō Hall of the Four Heavenly Kings.
久方のあまつをとめが夏衣雲井にさらすぬのびきのたき
| hisakata no ama tsu otome ga natsugoromo kumoi ni sarasu nunohiki no taki | Eternal Heavenly maidens Their summer garb Rinsing among the clouds— The cataract at Nunohiki |
Lord Ari’ie
Composed for the Palace Poetry Match in Kanna 2[1].
秋の夜の月に心のあくがれて雲井に物をおもふ比かな
| aki no yo no tuki ni kokoro no akugarete kumowi ni mono wo omoFu koro kana | On an autumn night The moon my heart Draws forth, and What lies beyond the clouds is The object of my thoughts then! |
Former Emperor Kazan
[1] The headnote here is erroneous, as the text of this contest records it as taking place in Kanna 1 [985].
A poem in reply.
忘れゆくことしなければたえだえにみえけむくももそらめなるらむ
| wasure yuku koto shi nakereba taedae ni miekemu kumo mo sorame naruramu | Forgetting you is Something I’ve not done, so Intermittently Appearing clouds is Pie in the sky, I’d say! |
When His Majesty ordered him to compose a poem for a love letter match, during the reign of former emperor Nijō.
わすれゆく人ゆゑそらをながむればたえだえにこそ雲もみえけれ
| wasure yuku hito yue sora o nagamureba taedae ni koso kumo mo miekere | Forgetting me, He is, so upon the sky I turn my gaze, where From time to time, indeed, Clouds, too, do show themselves![i] |
Minister of Justice Norikane
[i] See Shige’ie-shū 232 for the reply to this poem in the match..
Autumn
秋のよを吹あげの峰の木がらしによこ雲しらぬ山のはの月
| aki no yo o fukiage no mine no kogarashi ni yokogumo shiranu yama no ha no tsuki | On an autumn night Above Fukiage peak To the chill wild wind’s Streaming clouds paying no heed is The moon upon the mountain’s edge. |
Ietaka
Composed at the Poetry Match held at the Residence of the Uji Former Grand Minister.
山ざくらさきそめしより久かたの雲井にみゆるたきのしらいと
| yamazakura sakisomeshi yori hisakata no kumoi ni miyuru taki no shira’ito | Since the mountain cherries Have begun to bloom, The eternal Clouds seem Threaded with a waterfall of white. |
Lord Minamoto no Toshiyori
