Wisteria blooming by a river bank
Left さだめなく吹く風なれば池水のきしをめぐりてよする藤なみ
sadamenaku fuku kaze nareba ikemizu no kishi o megurite yosuru Fujinami Inconstant is The gusting wind, so By the pondwater’s Bank and all along it Break wisteria waves…
Fujiwara no Munenari 11
Right
藤なみのかからぬ岸のなければやこぎくる舟のよるひまのなき
fujinami no kakaranu kishi no nakereba ya kogikuru fune no yoru hima no naki Untouched by wisteria waves Such a bank Is there not one? Come rowing, the boats Have not a moment to make shore.
Lesser Superintendant Fujiwara no Sadamitsu 12
Boats 船
風はやきながとのうらの舟よりもとまりさだめぬ我が身なりけり
kaze hayaki nagato no ura no fune yori mo tomarisadamenu wa ga mi narikeri Swift, the wind from Nagato Beach sends A boat but more Uncertain of my resting place Am I…
Daishin
Boats 船
わたつ海にただよふ舟のうきしづみそこをとまりとなきぞわびしき
wata tsu umi ni tadayou fune no ukishizumi soko o tomari to naki zo wabishiki Upon the broad sea sweep The drifting boats both Float and sink – That there they will not always remain is Indeed, depressing!
Higo
Boats 船
にほてるややばせの渡りする舟をいくたびみつつせたのはし守
nioteru ya yabase no watari suru fune o iku tabi mitsutsu seta no hashimori On the shining Sea of Grebes From Yabase crossing go The ferry boats – How many times has he watched them, The bridge-guard at Seta?
Kanemasa
Boats 船
くもつよりすすめぐりするこし舟のおきこぎさかるほのぼのにみゆ
kumotsu yori susu megurisuru koshibune no oki kogisakaru honobono ni miyu From Kumotsu Around to Susu go The boats from Koshi, Rowing further into the offing Only faintly to be seen.
Nakazane
Boats 船 おそろしやともへはしりそ波間行くあかしを舟のあからめなせそ
osoroshi ya tomoe hashiri so namima yuku akashi o fune no akarame na se so O, how frightening! Bows and sterns, don’t race so Between the breakers go The lights – so from the boats Take not your wayward gaze!
Akinaka
Seafolk 泉郎
かのきしにわたりつきぬるあまを舟いかにのりえてうれしかるらん
kano kishi ni wataritsukinuru ama o fune ika ni noriete ureshikaruran To yonder shore Have crossed The fisher-folk; their boats— How might I board them, and Feel the selfsame joy?
Higo
Left (Win) 誰となく寄せては返る浪枕浮きたる舟の跡もとどめず
tare to naku yosete wa kaeru namimakura ukitaru fune no ato mo todomezu To no one Cleaving, they return; Pillowed on the waves The drifting boats’ Wakes fail to linger long…
A Servant Girl 1151
Right 何方を見ても忍ばむ難波女の浮き寝の跡に消ゆる白浪
izukata o mitemo shinobamu naniwame no ukine no ato ni kiyuru shiranami Whither Should I look in longing? With a girl from Naniwa I slept briefly, but her Wake vanishes among the whitecaps…
Jakuren 1152
Both Left and Right together state: neither poem is bad.
In judgement: both poems seem elegant in configuration and diction, but the Right’s ‘girl from Naniwa’ (naniwame) raises the same issue as ‘diving girl’, only more so – there is not even evidence on this from inclusion in the Collection of Poems to Sing, is there? The Left’s ‘cleaving, they return; pillowed on the waves’ (yosete wa kaeru namimakura) really does seem like a pleasure girl, so I must say it is superior.
Left (Win) 心通ふゆききの舟のながめにもさしてかばかり物は思はじ
kokoro kayou yukiki no fune no nagame ni mo sashite ka bakari mono wa omowaji Her heart goes out On the back-and-forth of boats That fill her gaze, but Surely her Thoughts will not be as mine…
Lord Sada’ie 1149
Right 舟のうち浪の上なる浮き寝には立ち帰るとて袖ぞ濡れける
fune no uchi nami no ue naru ukine ni wa tachikaeru tote sode zo nurekeru Within a boat, Atop the waves I sleep but briefly and When I am to leave, How soaked are my sleeves…
Lord Tsune’ie 1150
As the previous round.
In judgement: the use of ‘surely’ (sashite) in the final section of the Left’s poem sounds like it has been deliberately used to evoke a connection with the earlier ‘boat’ (fune). The initial section of the Right’s poem draws, yet again, on Mochitoki’s over-long line. The latter section also sounds like a deliberate use of evocative language, and the final line lacks impact. It is inferior to the Left’s poem.
Left (Tie) 舟のうちにさしも浮きたる契までうらやむ程のえにこそ有けれ
fune no uchi ni sashimo ukitaru chigiri made urayamu hodo no e ni koso arikere Within a boat Such a brief Bond is formed; yet Do I envy it, I really do!
Lord Ari’ie 1147
Right その人と分きて待つらん妻よりもあはれは深き浪の上哉
sono hito to wakite matsuran tsuma yori mo aware wa fukaki nami no ue kana There is her, and My waiting Wife: Far fonder am I Upon the waves!
Nobusada 1148
Left and Right state: neither has any fault.
In judgement: the configuration and diction of both poems sounds pleasant. I must make this a tie.
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'Simply moving and elegant'