Left
織女の年に一たび逢ふものをなどわが恋のはるけかるらむ
| tanabata no toshi ni hito tabi au mono o nado wa ga koi no harukekaruramu | The Weaver Maid But once a year A meeting may have, but Why is it my love Does seem to grow ever distant? |
13
Right
つゆに露われもろともにおきゐつつ恋する身さへ消えぬべきかな
| tsuyu ni tsuyu ware morotomo ni oki’itsutsu koisuru mi sae kienubeki kana | Dewfall upon dewdrops, Both do I Let ever fall— Love fills my flesh so It could fade away! |
14
Round Thirty-Two
Left (Tie)
上葉ふく朝の原の秋風におのれうつろふ萩の下露
| uwaba fuku ashita no hara no akikaze ni onore utsurou hagi no shitazuyu | Blowing upon the upper leaves Over Ashita Plain, The autumn breeze touches, Fading all of itself The dripping dew upon the bush clover. |
Tomoshige
63
Right
今よりはたが涙とか成りぬらん下葉色づく秋萩の露
| ima yori wa ta ga namida to ka narinuran shitaba irozuku akihagi no tsuyu | From now on Whose tears might They become? Colouring the underleaves Are dewdrops upon the autumn bush clover…[1] |
Dharma Master Zenshin
64
Left and Right are in the same style. The Right’s poem wonders ‘whose are these tears’ and has a person’s tears as the dew upon the grass, which is something one often hears. Using dew on the grass as a person’s tears is a bit vague, yet it’s not going so far as to be a definite fault. These should tie.
[1] An allusive variation on: Topic unknown. あきはぎのしたば色づく今よりやひとりある人のいねがてにする akihagi no / shitaba irozuku / ima yori ya / hitori aru hito no / inegatenisuru ‘The autumn bush clover’s / Underleaves are colouring / From this point on, / For one all alone / Will sleep be harder to find?’ Anonymous (KKS IV: 220)
Round Thirty-One
Left
露すがる庭の萩原色付きぬいかなる人の思ひそむらん
| tsuyu sugaru niwa no hagiwara irozukinu ika naru hito no omoisomuran | All clung with dew, The bush clover grove in the grounds Has taken on such hues, that I wonder who it is Might have just fallen into passion’s flames? |
Chikanari
61
Right (Win)
おく露は秋のならひの萩が枝にあまるや雁の涙なるらん
| oku tsuyu wa aki no narai no hagi ga e ni amaru ya kari no namida naruran | Dewdrops falling is Autumn’s custom for The bush clover branches, but Added to them are the goose Tears, perhaps?[1] |
Ie’kiyo
62
The Left’s poem has a person’s feelings being dyed by the bush-clover, but I cannot think why this should be? The Right’s poem seems particularly pleasant. Thus, it wins.
[1] An allusive variation on: Composed on the occasion of a poetry competition at Prince Koresada’s house. 秋の夜のつゆをばつゆとおきながらかりの涙やのべをそむらむ aki no yo no / tsuyu oba tsuyu to / okinagara / kari no namida ya / nobe o somuran ‘On Autumn nights / The dew as dewdrops / Falls, but, / Perhaps goose tears / Stain the fields?’ Mibu no Tadamine (KKS V: 258)
Round Twenty-Nine
Left (Win)
宮城のの木下風や過ぎぬらん露におくるる秋萩の花
| miyagino no ko no shitakaze ya suginuran tsuyu ni okururu akihagi no hana | On Miyagi Plain has The breeze beneath the trees Passed by? For Missing the dewfall are The autumn bush clover blooms… |
Takasuke
57
Right
物おもふやどの物とてながむれば露にをれふす庭の萩原
| mono’omou yado no mono tote nagamureba tsuyu ni orefusu niwa no hagiwara | Sunk in gloomy thought is The one who dwells here, I feel, When I gaze upon, Broken and tangled among the dewdrops, The bush clover grove in the grounds… |
Shimotsuke
58
The Left poem’s ‘Missing the dewfall are the autumn bush clover’ sounds pleasant. The Right poem has no faults either, yet the Left should win.
Round Twenty-Six
Left
秋萩の露もよすがのさがり葉も風吹きたつる色ぞ身にしむ
| akihagi no tsuyu mo yosuga no sagariba mo kaze fukitatsuru iro zo mi ni shimu | On the autumn bush clover Dewdrops rest upon The dangling leaves, Whipped up by the wind, Their hues sharply sink into my flesh. |
The Former Minister of the Centre
51
Right (Win)
さだめなき風を待つ間もうつろひぬもとあらの萩にむすぶ白露
| sadamenaki kaze o matsu ma mo utsuroinu motoara no hagi ni musubu shiratsuyu | While the unsettled Breeze they do await, Faded from The sparse bush clover have The clinging dewdrops.[1] |
Kozaishō
52
The Left poem’s ‘rest upon the dangling leaves, whipped up by the wind’ seems a novel style, and yet, even though everything about dangling leaves is contained in the Ancient and Modern, it does not sound particularly evocative. The Right lacks even a small fault and appears gorgeous, so it should win.
[1] An allusive variation on: Topic unknown. 宮木野のもとあらの小萩つゆをおもみ風をまつごと君をこそまつ miyagino no / motoara no kohagi / tsuyu o omomi / kaze o matsu goto / kimi o koso matsu ‘On Miyagi Plain / The sparse bush clover / Weighed down with dewdrops / Awaits the wind, just as / I do wait for you…’ Anonymous (KKS XIV: 694)
Round Twenty-Five
Dew on Bush Clover
Left
下葉には色なる玉やくだくらむ風の吹きしく萩の上の露
| shitaba ni wa iro naru tama ya kudakuramu kaze no fukishiku hagi no ue no tsuyu | From the underleaves Hues have the gemlets taken In their shattering? Spread by the gusting wind Are the dewdrops on the bush clover… |
A Court Lady
49
Right (Win)
又やみむ又や見ざらん白露の玉おきしける秋萩の花
| mata ya mimu mata ya mizaran shiratsuyu no tama okishikeru akihagi no hana | Will I see again, or Will I not Silver dewdrop Pearls spread upon The autumn bush clover blooms? |
Ietaka
50
The Left’s poem does not seem to have a particularly superlative style. The Right’s poem, saying ‘will I see again, or will I not silver dewdrops’ is particularly charming and moving. Thus, it wins.
Round Twenty
Left (Win)
あけぼのは涙やもろき時鳥なくねにおつる杜の下露
| akenbono wa namida ya moroki hototogisu naku ne ni otsuru mori no shitazuyu | With the dawn Are you swiftly to tears moved By the cuckoo’s Calling cries, falling from The forest drip dewdrops? |
Dōchin
39
Right
今もかも昔やこふる橘の花ちる里になく郭公
| ima mo kamo mukashi ya kouru tachibana no hana chiru sato ni naku hototogisu | I wonder, is she now, As in days gone by, beloved Where orange Blossom falls on the estate— The calling cuckoo?[1] |
Dharma Master Nyokan
40
Both Left and Right are of the same quality, yet I wonder about the sound of the Right poem’s final section, so the Left wins.
[1] An allusive variation on: A poem by the Governor-General of Dazai, Lord Ōtomo. 橘の花散る里の霍公鳥片恋しつつ鳴く日しぞ多き tachibana no / hana chiru sato no / hototogisu / kata koishitsutsu / naku hi shi zo ōki ‘Orange / Blossom scatters round my estate where / The cuckoo / For unrequited love / Does cry on many a day…’ Ōtomo no Tabito (MYS VIII: 1473)
Round Eight
Left (T – Win; M – Tie)
冬枯にうつろひ残る白菊はうは葉に置ける霜かとぞみる
| fuyugare ni utsuroi nokoru shiragiku wa uwaba ni okeru shimo ka to zo miru | Sere in winter, Faded and lingering A white chrysanthemum as, Fallen upon its upper leaves, Frost does appear, perhaps? |
Lord Morikata
39
Right
露じもの暁置きのあさごとに移ひまさるしらぎくの花
| tsuyujimo no akatsuki oki no asa goto ni utsuroi masaru shiragiku no hana | Frosty dewdrops With the dawn fall—arising Every morning Fading fairer become The white chrysanthemum blooms. |
Lord Michitsune
40
Toshiyori states: I have the feeling that I have never heard the expression ‘sere in winter’, and I certainly have no recollection of it being in the Collection of a Myriad Leaves. The poem of the Right is smooth and extremely charming; I’m very familiar with the expression ‘dew fallen in the morning when I arise’, and here there seems to be some reason for it, doesn’t there! Still, the first poem is better.
Mototoshi states: the expression ‘faded and lingering’ is difficult to distinguish. In addition, saying ‘Fallen upon [the flower’s] upper leaves, / Frost’ is a severe misjudgment. The poem of the Right has the tautology ‘with the dawn fall’ and then ‘every morning’. Clearly neither of these appears to win or lose, so I make this a tie.
