Grieving that he had grown old, while seated beneath the cherry blossoms.
色も香もおなじ昔にさくらめど年ふる人ぞあらたまりける
| iro mo ka mo onadi mukasi ni sakuramedo tosi Furu Fito zo aratamarikeru | In both hue and scent Just as in days long gone Do they seem to bloom, yet A man with years laid upon him Has changed beyond all measure. |
Ki no Tomonori
Left (Win)
からあひの八入の衣色深くなどあながちにつらき心ぞ
| kara’ai no yashio no koromo iro fukaku nado anagachi ni tsuraki kokoro zo |
Deepest indigo Dipped many times, my robe’s Hue is dark, indeed; Why, with such heartless Cruelty am I treated… |
Lord Suetsune
1127
Right
衣衣にうつりし色はあだなれど心ぞ深き忍ぶもぢずり
| kinuginu ni utsurishi iro wa ada naredo kokoro zo fukaki shinobu mojizuri |
My robe’s Hues have shifted; Faithless is she, yet My heart’s depths Are stained with fern-patterned longing… |
Lord Takanobu
1128
The Right state: we wonder whether ‘deepest indigo dipped many times’ (kara’ai no yashio) should not be scarlet. How dark would the colour be then? In response: there is no possibility of interpreting this as scarlet. We have used deep indigo, so what is there to criticise in then using dark? The Left state: while we understand the conception of the poem, we feel the expression is somewhat lacking. ‘My heart’s depths are stained with secret longing’ (kokoro zo fukaki shinobu mojizuri) does not link well with the initial part of the poem.
In judgement: the Left’s initial ‘deepest indigo’ (kara’ai) certainly sounds elegant, and there is no reason to make it scarlet. I also see no reason to fault the use of dark, either. As for the Right, it does not sound as if ‘stained with fern-patterned longing’ (shinobu mojizuri) links with the remainder of the poem – from the beginning to ‘my heart’s depths’ (kokoro zo fukaki). The final ‘stained with fern-patterned longing’ seems to appear abruptly. Deepest indigo should win.
Left (Tie)
恋そめし思ひの妻の色ぞそれ見にしむ春の花の衣手
| koisomeshi omoi no tsuma no iro zo sore mi ni shimu haru no hana no koromode |
The first flush of love’s Scarlet passion for her: A hue that Stains the flesh, as spring’s Blossoms do the sleeves… |
Lord Sada’ie
1123
Right
飽かざりしそのうつり香は唐衣恋をすすむる妻にぞ有りける
| akazarishi sono utsurika wa karakoromo koi o susumuru tsuma ni zo arikeru |
I cannot get enough of Her scent transferred to My Cathay robe: Love for her begins With a skirt! |
The Supernumerary Master of the Empress’ Household Office
1124
The Right state: both the conception and diction of the Left’s poem are unclear. The Left state: the Right’s poem, in addition to being commonplace, has ‘begins’ (susumuru) which is unimpressive.
In judgement: in the Left’s poem, while ‘blossoms do the sleeves’ (hana no koromode) is evocative, ‘a hue that’ (iro zo sore) is certainly extremely difficult to understand. In the Right’s poem, both ‘Cathay robe’ (karakoromo) and ‘with a skirt’ (tsuma ni zo arikeru) seem elegant, but I wonder about the impression of ‘her scent transferred’ (sono utsurika) and ‘begins’. It is unclear which poem is superior or inferior, so the round should tie.
Brushwood
時雨つつ吹く山風に椎柴の枝はなひけど色は変らず
| shiguretsutsu fuku yama kaze ni shiishiba no eda wa nabikedo iro wa kawarazu |
Showers mixed with Gusting mountain winds The brushwood Branches bend down yet They show no change of hue. |
Minamoto no Kanemasa
源兼昌
Topic unknown.
宮城野の萩や雄鹿の妻ならん花咲きしより声の色なる
| miyagino no Fagi ya wosika no tuma naran Fana sakisi yori kowe no iro naru |
On Miyagi plain Has the bush clover the stag’s Bride become? For since the blossom bloomed His cry takes on its passionate hue. |
Fujiwara no Mototoshi
藤原基俊
山里の葎の垣に這ふ蔦の色にて秋の深きをぞ知る
| yamazato no mugura no kaki ni hau tsuta no iro nite aki no fukaki wo zo shiru |
Upon this moutain hut’s Weed-tangled fence Trails ivy: Its hue autumn’s Depth does reveal! |
Higo
京極関白家肥後
Left.
心あひの風いづかたへ吹かぬらん我には散らす言の葉もなし
| kokoro ai no kaze izukata e fukanuran ware ni wa chirasu koto no ha mo nashi |
This pleasant Breeze: whither Does it blow? To me not one scattered Leaf or word has it delivered. |
Kenshō.
929
Right (Win).
色に出し言の葉もみなかれはてゝ涙を散らす風の音哉
| iro ni idashi koto no ha mo mina karehatete namida o chirasu kaze no oto kana |
The bright hues of passion In these leaves and your words Have all withered away; Tears scattering with The sound of the wind… |
Lord Takanobu.
930
The Right state: ‘Breeze: whither’ (kaze izukata e) seems lacking. The Left state: the Right’s poem has no faults to indicate.
In judgement: in the Left’s poem, I wonder whether ‘breeze: wither’ really is lacking. ‘This pleasant’ (kokoro no ai) would seem to be an expression deriving from ‘At the head of the road’. I seem to recall it coming after ‘In Kofu in Takefu / Will I be’, but that is not a suitable source. The Right’s poem, as the Gentlemen of the Left have said, appears to have no faults. It should win.
A poem from the Kamo winter festival.
ちはやぶるかものやしろのひめこまつよろづ世ふともいろはかはらじ
| tiFayaburu kamo no yasiro no Fimekomatu yoroduyo Futomo iro Fa kaFarazi |
At puissant Kamo Shrine, The Princess’ pine, Though ten thousand ages pass Will never change her hue! |
Fujiwara no Toshiyuki
藤原敏行
When the same former Emperor [Koichijō] had gone to reside with the Takamatsu Consort, and his visits to her had become intermittent, she composed this on hearing the wind blowing strongly through the pines.
松風は色や緑にふきつらむ物おもふ人の身にぞ志みぬる
| matukaze Fa iro ya midori ni Fukituramu mono’omoFu Fito no mi ni zo siminuru |
Does the wind through the pines Take on a hue of green As it blows? That one so sunk in gloomy thought It so deeply dyes… |
The Horikawa Consort 堀川女御
[Fujiwara no Nobuko/Enshi 藤原延子 (985-1019)