否も諾も欲しきまにまに許すべき顔見ゆるかも我れも寄りなむ
| ina mo o mo posiki mani mani yurusubeki kapo miyuru kamo ware mo yorinamu |
Uncontrolled Is my desire, I feel I should surrender To his charming face, so I, too, will yield to him! |
Tag Archives: face
SZS XVIII: 1166
Composed in the conception of travel, when he presented a hundred poem sequence.
東路の野島が埼の浜風に我が紐ゆひし妹がかほのみ面影に見ゆ
| azumadi no nozima ga saki no Famakaze ni wa ga Fimo yuFisi imo ga kaFo nomi omokage ni miyu |
On Eastern roads At Nojima Point In the breeze from off the beach: My belt was tied By my darling, her face, A vision, appears before me… |
Master of the Left Capital Office, Akisuke
左京大夫顕輔
Tsukimōdeshū III: 227
Love V: 3
Left.
いひわたる我年波を初瀬川映れる影もみつわさしつゝ
| iiwataru wa ga toshinami o hatsusegawa utsureru kage mo mitsuwashitsutsu |
Many times I have proposed, As the years come on me in waves By the River Hatsuse, But the reflection of my face Shows signs of stiffness… |
Kenshō.
845
Right.
姿こそ雪降りにたる身なれども袖は涙に色めきにけり
| sugata koso yuki furinitaru mi naredomo sode wa namida ni iromekinikeri |
My very form, Has snow drifts Upon me, but My sleeves with tears Have been strongly stained… |
Lord Tsune’ie.
846
Both Left and Right state together that they are unable to find any words of praise.
In judgement: ‘River Hatsuse’ (hatsusegawa) and ‘many times I have proposed’ (iiwataru) are the only expressions with some conception of love, but they seem somewhat lacking, do they not? A form with ‘snow drifts’ (yuki furinitaru), having ‘sleeves strongly stained with tears’ (sode no namida wa iromeku) has a profound conception of love.
Minishū 383
Love IV: 6
Left (Win).
月やそれほのみし人の面影を偲びかへせば有明の空
| tsuki ya sore honomishi hito no omokage o shinobikaeseba ariake no sora |
Was the moon her? So briefly glimpsed, her Face I bring to mind, but simply see The dawning sky… |
A Servant Girl.
791
Right.
夜もすがら苦しき戀に晴れやらぬ心迷いや明暗の空
| yomosugara kurushiki koi ni hareyaranu kokoro mayoi ya akegure no sora |
All night long From the pains of love Have I had no relief; Does the tumult in my heart reflect The shading of the dawning sky? |
Lord Tsune’ie.
792
The Right state: we find no faults in the Left’s poem. The Left state: the initial section of the Right’s poem sounds a little clumsy.
In judgement: both the Left’s ‘dawning sky’ (ariake no sora) and the Right’s ‘shading of the dawning sky’ (akegure no sora) sound pleasant, but the Left’s conception of commencing with ‘Was the moon her?’ (tsuki ya sore) and following it with ‘I bring to mind, but simply see the dawning sky’ (shinobikaeseba ariake no sora) appears particularly profoundly appropriate for the topic. Thus, the Left must win.
Love IV: 5
Left.
面影も別れに變る鐘の音にならひ悲しき東雲の空
| omokage mo wakare ni kawaru kane no oto ni narai kanashiki shinonome no sora |
That your face Is transformed to parting By the bell’s toll: How sad this custom From the eastern skies! |
Lord Sada’ie.
789
Right (Win).
暁の涙やせめてたぐふらん袖に落ち來る鐘の音かな
| akatsuki no namida ya semete tagūran sode ni ochikuru kane no oto kana |
At dawn, are My tears, forced to be Like them? Falling on my sleeves: The tolls of the bell! |
Nobusada.
790
The Right state: the sense of the Left’s poem is difficult to grasp on hearing. The Left state: the expression ‘forced to be’ (semete) seems out of place in the context of the Right’s poem.
In judgement: The Left’s poem, just as was said of Kisen’s poetry – that it was ‘obscure of diction and indefinite from beginning to end’ – seems to be in just such a style. The Right’s poem, while it does not, in fact, sound like a suitable context for ‘forced to be’ (semete), provides a profound conception in ‘falling on my sleeves’ (sode ni ochikuru). The Right should win.