A poem composed by Emperor Ingyō after spending the night with Princess Sotōri.
波那具波辞 佐区羅能梅涅 許等梅涅麼 波椰区波梅涅孺 和我梅豆留古羅
| hana guwashi sakura no mede koto medeba hayaku wa medezu wa ga mezuru kora | So fair the bloom, I love the cherry blossom, and Just the same do I love her—sad—that Earlier I did not love her That girl I love now. |
Left
つれもなき人をこふとて山びこのこたふるまでもなげきつるかな
| tsure mo naki hito o kou tote yamabiko no kotauru made mo nagekitsuru kana | A heartless Girl he loves, says he, The mountain man, Until she gives him her reply, Is full of grief! |
164
Right
我が恋は深山がくれの草なれやしげさまされど知る人のなき
| wa ga koi wa miyamagakure no kusa nare ya shigesa masaredo shiru hito no naki | My love: Hidden in the mountains’ heart are Grasses-is that it? Most lush, but Unknown to all. |
Ono no Yoshiki
165[1]
[1] Kokinshū XII: 560/Shinsen man’yōshū 462
Left
This poem is missing from extant copies of the text of the contest.
Right
夏虫にあらぬ我が身のつれもなき人をおもひにもゆる比かな
| natsumushi ni aranu wa ga mi no tsure mo naki hito o omoi ni moyuru koro kana | A summer insect I am not, but That heartless Girl, with passion Has these days set me burning! |
63[1]
[1] Shinchokusenshū XII: 708
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
夏虫にあらぬ我が身のつれもなき人をおもひにもゆる比かな
| natsumushi ni aranu wa ga mi no tsure mo naki hito o omoi ni moyuru koro kana | A summer insect I am not, but That heartless Girl, with passion Has these days set me burning! |
Anonymous
Left
蘆間分け月にうたひて漕ぐ舟に心ぞまづは乗りうつりぬる
| ashima wake tsuki ni utaite kogu fune ni kokoro zo mazu wa nori’utsurinuru | Parting the reeds, and Singing to the moon, Boats come rowing out – My heart, it is, that is first Aboard and carried away… |
Kenshō
1141
Right (Win)
浪の上にくだるを舟のむやひして月にうたひし妹ぞ戀しき
| nami no ue ni kudaru o fune no muyaishite tsuki ni utaishi imo zo koishiki | Upon the waves, Her boat departs, Vanishing into the mist; That moon-sung Girl is dear to me, indeed! |
The Supernumerary Master of the Empress’ Household Office
1142
The Right state: the Left’s poem lacks much of a conception of pleasure girls. In appeal: the poem was written in the conception of Mochitoki’s Chinese poem on pleasure girls ‘the reed-leaves are fresh in springtime’. The Left state: the Right’s poem has nothing worth mentioning.
In judgement: is the conception of pleasure girls really absent from the Left’s ‘parting the reeds, and singing to the moon’ (ashima wake tsuki ni utaite)? The case certainly cannot rely on ‘the reed-leaves are fresh in springtime’. A Chinese poem expresses its topic in its initial line. It is normal for the introduction of the topic to be vague. Japanese and Chinese poetry have aspects where they are similar, and aspects where they differ. Thus, it is not appropriate to cite a Chinese poem’s broaching of its topic as evidence for a Japanese poem’s content. There are certainly other examples by Mochitoki, such as his overlong line in ‘in a boat atop the waves, but I find the same pleasure in life’. The line about reed-leaves can in no way function as proof. Thus this poem, as ‘an old fisherman sings a single shanty’ could be said to be about an old man. As a result, given the lack of clarity in the poem, it is not possible to accept that it is about a pleasure girl. The Right’s poem concludes ‘that moon-sung girl is dear to me, indeed’ (tsuki ni utaishi imo zo koishiki). The final line seems to be almost pointlessly pedestrian, but the poem is certainly about love for a pleasure girl. The Right must win.
Left (Win).
都にて馴れにし物をひとり寢の片敷く袖は何かさびしき
| miyako nite narenishi mono o hitori ne no katashiku sode wa nani ka sabishiki |
In the capital I grew accustomed to it, but Sleeping alone With only a single sleeve spread out Is somehow sad… |
Lord Suetsune
891
Right.
妹だにも待つとし聞かば小余綾のいそぐ舟路も嬉しからまし
| imo dani mo matsu to shi kikaba koyurugi no isogu funaji mo ureshikaramashi |
That girl of yours Awaits you – were I to hear that, From Koyurugi’s Rocky shore in haste I’d go, even The sea-lanes filled with joy! |
The Provisional Master of the Empress Household Office.
892
The Right state: the Left’s poem lacks the essence of love on a journey, and even the sense of sorrow seems insufficient. The Left state: the Right’s poem has no particular faults.
In judgement: what do the Right mean by saying the Left ‘lack the essence of love on a journey’? And is it really right that ‘is somehow sad’ (nani ka sabishiki) is insufficient? The poem is composed to give an impression of someone fooling themselves. The Right’s ‘Koyurugi’ is certainly not an expression which I have not come across. However, the Left should win.