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Poetry Competition in Six Hundred Rounds

Autumn I: 5

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Left.

秋來ても猶夕風を松が根に夏を忘れし陰ぞたち憂き

aki kitemo
nao yū kaze wo
matsu ga ne ni
natsu o wasureshi
kage zo tachi uki		 Though the autumn has come,
Still, for an evening breeze,
Must I abide beneath the pines,
As did I to forget the summer,
Loath to leave the shade…

Lord Sada’ie.

309

Right.

夏衣まだ脱ぎやらぬ夕暮は袖に待たるゝ萩の上風

natsukoromo
mada nugiyaranu
yūgure wa
sode ni mataruru
hagi no uwakaze		 My summer garb
Have I not yet put away;
In the evening
My sleeves await
A breeze over the bush-clover.

Jakuren.

310

Neither team can find any fault with the other’s poem.

Shunzei, however, says, ‘With regard to the Right’s poem, one marks the change of clothing at the end of spring into summer, and the passage from autumn and the entrance to winter. Does one say that now it is autumn, one changes from summer clothes? The Left’s ‘beneath the pines’ must win, must it not?’

Poetry Competition in Six Hundred Rounds

Summer II: 30

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Left (Win).

鳴蝉の羽に置く露に秋かけて木陰涼しき夕暮の聲

naru semi no
ha ni oku tsuyu ni
aki kakete
kokage suzushiki
yūkure no koe		 Upon the singing cicadas’
Wings fall dewdrops,
Heralding autumn;
Cool, and shaded by the trees
Are their evening songs…

A Servant Girl.

299

Right.

夏深き杜の梢にかねてより秋をかなしむ蝉の聲かな

natsu fukaki
mori no kozue ni
kanete yori
aki o kanashimu
semi no koe kana		 In the depths of summer
From the forest treetops,
Long before
Autumn, in sadness
Do the cicadas sing.

Jakuren.

300

Neither Left nor Right can find fault with the other’s poem this round.

Shunzei states, ‘It is rather difficult to know a cicada’s mind – as to whether or not it is mourning the coming of autumn long before it arrives. The Left’s “Wings fall dewdrops, heralding autumn” (ha ni oku tsuyu ni aki kakete), is particularly delicate in expression and charming. It must win.’

Poetry Competition in Six Hundred Rounds

Summer II: 13

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Left.

片山の垣根の日影ほのみえて露にぞうつる花の夕顔

katayama no
kakine no hikage
honomiete
tsuyu ni zo utsuru
hana no yūgao		 Facing the single mountainside
In evening sunlight upon the fence
Faintly seen,
Glistening with dew,
Is a bloom of moonflower.

A Servant Girl.

265

Right (Win).

折てこそ見るべかりけれ夕露に紐とく花の光ありとは

orite koso
mirubekarikere
yū tsuyu ni
himo toku hana no
hikari ari to wa		 Plucked, that
I might gaze upon her,
Touched with evening dew,
Her belt undoing, this blossom
Is lustrous, indeed!

The Provisional Master of the Empress’ Household Office.

266

The Right wonder whether the Left’s poem, ‘lacks the emotional import of the topic [dai no kokoro kasuka ni ya], despite the mention of moonflowers?’ The Left counter that, ‘The Right’s poem simplistically recalls The Tale of Genji [genji no monogatari bakari o omoeru]– is this appropriate in a poetry contest [uta’awase no akashi to nasu ni, ikaga]?’

Shunzei states, ‘The Left certainly does lack the emotional import of the topic. Moreover, it does not use the expression “moonflower blossom” (yūgao no hana), but “bloom of moonflower” (hana no yūgao). This, too, is contrary to the topic [dai no mama narade] and, I have to say, an unusual choice of expression. The Right’s poem does simply refer to The Tale of Genji, but in form it cannot be said to be anything less than superb [utazama yū narazaru ni wa arazaru]. It is superior to a “bloom of moonflower”.’

Poetry Competition in Six Hundred Rounds

Summer II: 9

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Left (Win).

夕されば扇の風を手ならして月待つ程も涼しかりけり

yū sareba
ōgi no kaze o
te narashite
tsuki matsu hodo mo
suzushikarikeri		 When the evening comes,
A fan-borne breeze
Wafted by hand makes
Waiting for the moon
All the cooler…

Kenshō.

257

Right.

夏の夜の月は入ぬるなぐさめにならす扇をたとふばかりぞ

natsu no yo no
tsuki wa irinuru
nagusame ni
narasu ōgi o
tatou bakari zo		 On summer nights
After moon-set
A consolation is
A wafted fan:
A simple image.

The Provisional Master of the Empress’ Household Office.

258

The Right state ironically, ‘“Waiting for the moon” certainly sounds hot!’, while the Left merely remark, ‘We have nothing special to mention, apart from the similarity to “When the moon is hid ‘hind rangéd mountains”.’

Shunzei judges, ‘In the Left’s poem, once the moon has come out, it would, indeed, be cool. It would be hot waiting, so there’s no reason not to compose this way. There is nothing special about the Right’s poem, apart from the resemblance to “When the moon is hid ‘hind rangéd mountains”, as has already been said. Shouldn’t we expect there to be something more? Thus, the Left’s poem is, just, the winner.’

Poetry Competition in Six Hundred Rounds

Summer I: 27

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Left.

夕涼み閨へも入らぬうたゝ寢の夢を殘して明くるしのゝめ

yū suzumi
neya e mo iranu
utatane no
yume o nokoshite
akuru shinonome		 In the cool of evening
I’ve not taken to my bed, but
Dozing
Have dreamed on
In the dark before dawn’s light.

Lord Ari’ie.

233

Right (Win).

澄む月の光は霜とさゆれどもまだ宵ながら在明の空

sumu tsuki no
hikari wa shimo to
sayuredomo
mada yoi nagara
ariake no sora		 The clear moon
Light is frost
Frigid, yet
Still ‘tis night
In the dawn-touched sky.

Ietaka.

234

Neither team has any criticisms to make this round.

Shunzei says, ‘The Left’s phrase “have dreamed on” (yume o nokoshite) is extremely good. The earlier “In the cool of evening” (yū suzumi) is a phrase often used in composition, but I dislike it. The Right’s poems is charming throughout. It should win.’

Poetry Competition in Six Hundred Rounds

Spring III: 3

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Left.

夕暮に思へばけさの朝霞夜をへだてたる心地こそすれ

yūgure ni
omoeba kesa no
asa kasumi
yo o hedatetaru
kokochi koso sure		 In the evening
Pondering on the morn’s
Morning mist:
That a night does stand between,
The feeling strikes me strongly.

Lord Ari’ie.

125

Right (Win).

かくしつゝつもればおしき春の日をのどけき物と何思らむ

kakushitsutsu
tsumoreba oshiki
haru no hi o
nodokeki mono to
nani omouramu		 Doing this and that
Time passes, so I should regret
These days of spring,
Spent in peaceful
Thought – and for what!

Lord Takanobu.

126

Neither team has any comments to make about the other’s poem this round.

Shunzei states, ‘The Left seem to touch on the topic of the round only distantly, while the Right’s ‘Time passes, so I should regret’ (tsumoreba oshiki) appears particularly splendid. It must be the winner.

Poetry Competition in Six Hundred Rounds

Spring II: 17

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Left (Tie).

はるばると荻の燒原立ひばり霞のうちに聲あがるなり

harubaru to
ogi no yakehara
tatsu hibari
kasumi no uchi ni
koe agarunari		 Into the distance, far,
The silver-grass plain is aflame;
A skylark takes flight, and
From within the haze, its
Song soars.

Lord Suetsune.

93

Right (Tie).

春深き野邊の霞の下風に吹かれてあがる夕雲雀哉

haru fukaki
nobe no kasumi no
shita kaze ni
fukarete agaru
yū hibari kana		 Now is the height of spring, and
Haze lies o’er the plains;
The breeze beneath
Gusts, lifting
A skylark, at eventide.

Nobusada.

94

The Right have no comments to make about the Left’s poem, but the Left say they are ‘unused to hearing’ the expression ‘breeze beneath the haze’ (kasumi no shita kaze), and then continue to ask, facetiously, ‘Do you mean to say that skylarks don’t soar without a breeze?’ The Right reply that, ‘when the wind is blowing gently, it appears as if the bird is lifted by it – that is the scene.’

Shunzei states that Left’s poem, with its essence of the skylark’s call emerging from the haze is ‘truly charming’. He did ‘wonder’ about the Right’s essence of the bird being lifted by the breeze, can see the scene of a gentle ‘breeze beneath the haze across the plains’ (nobe no kasumi no shita kaze), and is attracted by both sides’ poems. Thus, there are no winners or losers this round.

Poetry Competition in Six Hundred Rounds

Spring II: 16

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Left (Win).

片岡の霞も深き木隱れに朝日待つまの雲雀鳴くなり

kataoka no
kasumi mo fukaki
kogakure ni
asahi matsu ma no
hibari nakunari		 At Kataoka
The haze is deep upon
The shade of the concealing trees;
Awaiting dawn’s first light,
A skylark sings.

A Servant Girl.

91

Right.

野邊見ればあがる雲雀も今はとて淺茅に落つる夕暮の空

nobe mireba
agaru hibari mo
ima wa tote
asaji ni otsuru
yūgure no sora		 Looking out across the plain,
A soaring skylark
Seizes the second
To plunge among the cogon-grass
From the evening sky.

Ietaka.

92

Neither team has any criticisms to make of the other’s poem.

Shunzei states that, ‘Left and Right deal with the skylark at morning and evening respectively. Both poems are alike in content, yet the Right’s poem conveys a particularly desolate feeling. Why should this be? Once more, the Left is the victor.’ Commentators are divided as to whether in this judgement he is suggesting that loneliness is an inappropriate emotion to convey in a skylark-themed poem, or whether, knowing that the Left’s poem was composed by Fujiwara no Yoshitsune, the host of the competition and the highest-ranking person present, he is simply flattering a powerful man’s work.

Poetry Competition in Six Hundred Rounds

Spring II: 13

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Left (Win).

末遠き若葉の芝生うちなびき雲雀鳴野の春の夕暮

sue tōki
wakaba no shibafu
uchinabiki
hibari naku no no
haru no yūgure		 To the distance far
The growing greensward
Stretches;
Skylarks singing o’er the plain
In the springtime evening.

Lord Sada’ie

85

Right.

雲に入るそなたの聲をながむれば雲雀落ち來る明ぼのゝ空

kumo ni iru
sonata no koe no
nagamureba
hibari ochikuru
akebono no sora		 From within the clouds
Comes song: thither
Staring,
Skylarks swooping
Through the skies at dawn.

Lord Takanobu.

86

The Right team question what it is that the greensward ‘streams’ (nabiku) towards, while the Left say that starting with ‘within the clouds’ (kumo ni iru) is ‘somewhat abrupt’.

Shunzei comments of the Right’s question, ‘whatever it streams towards, in truth, from point of view of form, it should not stream at all,’ meaning that there’s no need to use the expression at all in the poem. As for the Right’s poem, somewhat facetiously, he says, ‘what is “within the clouds” is, most likely a ball, and while gazing “thither at their song”, one would think that, no doubt, the skylark, too, would soon come swooping down, but one would have to stop staring in order to catch it!’ In addition, ‘wouldn’t it be to dark at dawn to distinguish a skylark?’ So, ‘Skylarks singing o’er the plain/In the springtime evening’ should be the winner.

Poetry Competition in Six Hundred Rounds

Spring I: 9

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Left (Win).

信樂の外山は雪も消えにしを冬を殘すや谷の夕風

shigaraki no
toyama wa yuki mo
kienishi o
fuyu o nokosu ya
tani no yūkaze		 From Shigaraki’s
Mountains, the snow
Has gone, yet
Does winter remain in
The valleys’ evening breeze?

Kenshō

17

Right.

春風は吹くと聞けども柴の屋はなをさむしろにいこそ寢られね

haru kaze wa
fuku to kikedomo
shiba no ya wa
nao samushiro ni
i koso nerarene		 The spring breeze
Blows, I hear, yet
My twig-roofed hut is
Yet chill: beneath a threadbare blanket
I cannot fall asleep.

Lord Tsune’ie

18

Shunzei states the first part of the Left’s poem is ‘elevated in tone’, but that the final line is problematic: a reference to ‘morning’ might have been better, or just to the ‘valleys’ breeze’, but this would not have fitted the syllable count. If the intention had been to add a sense of ‘darkness’ to the poem, an expression such as ‘the valleys, shadowed by the crags’ would have been better. As for the Right’s poem, the image of the ‘twig-roofed hut’ is lonely, but the overlaying of the ‘cold’ with ‘blanket’ (in the original poem ‘samushiro’ is a play-on-words with both senses) is pedestrian, and so the Left’s poem, despite its faults, is adjudged the winner.