夢路にはなれし宿見る現にて宇津の山辺の蔦ふける庵
| yumeji ni wa nareshi yado miru utsutsu nite utsu no yamabe no tsuta fukeru io |
Upon the path of dreams I saw a house I used to know so well; In reality, it is Near to Utsu Moutain, A hut all twined with ivy… |
Fujiwara no Shunzei
藤原俊成
From a hundred poem sequence.
葦の葉に隠れて住みし津の国の昆陽もあらはに冬は来にけり
| asi no Fa ni kakurete sumisi tu no kuni no koya mo araFa ni Fuyu Fa kinikeri |
Among the reed fronds Hidden, did I dwell In the land of Tsu To the surface of my hut Has come the winter. |
Minamoto no Shigeyuki
源重之
夜もすがら山田の庵は稲妻の光をのみや－灯火にする
| yomosugara yamada no io wa inazuma no hikari o nomi ya tomoshibi ni suru |
All throughout the night In a hut among the mountain fields, Is the lightning’s Light alone the only Lamp? |
When he was composing on the autumn moon.
葎しく庵の庭の夕露を玉にもてなす秋の夜の月
| mukurashiku iori no niwa no yūzuyu o tama ni motenasu aki no yo no tsuki |
Tangled weeds spread around The garden of my hut; Evening dew A garland of jewels From the moon this autumn night. |
Saigyō
西行
In reply.
東屋の萱が下にし乱るればいさや月日のゆくも知られず
| adumaya no kaya ga sita ni si midarureba isa ya tukiFi no yuku mo sirarezu |
A crude hut’s Roof of silver-grass – beneath it All is in confusion, so How the days and months Do pass, I know not! |
The Mother of Prince Yasusuke
康資王母
Topic unknown.
旅人の萱かりおほひつくるてふまろやは人を思ひ忘るゝ
| tabibito no kayakari oFoFi tukuru teFu maroya wa Fito o omoFiwasururu |
A traveller Cuts silver grass to cover, and Construct, today His hut; will I ever Put her from my thoughts? |
Anonymous
Composed as a travel poem, when the Regent and Former Minister of the Right had a hundred poem sequence composed at his residence.
あはれなる野しまかさきのいほりかな露おく袖に浪もかけけり
| awarenaru nojima ga saki no iori kana tsuyu oku sode ni nami mo kakekeri |
Mournful Nojima Point is where My hut lies; Upon my dew-dropped sleeves Have rushed the waves… |
Master of the Dowager Empress Household Office, Toshinari
皇太后宮大夫俊成
玉藻刈る戸嶋をすぎて夏草の子島が埼に庵する我
| tamamo karu tozima wo sugite natu kusa no kozima ga saki ni iForisuru ware |
Reaping gemweed Tojima I have passed beyond, and Among the summer grasses of Kojima Point Have I built my hut! |
Left.
昨日まで蓬に閉ぢし柴の戸も野分に晴るゝ岡の邊の里
| kinō made yomogi ni tojishi shiba no to mo nowaki ni haruru oka no be no sato |
Until yesterday Sealed by mugwort was This brushwood door; Swept clear by the gale The hills around my dwelling. |
357
Right.
假にさす庵までこそ靡きけれ野分に堪へぬ小野の篠原
| kari ni sasu iori made koso nabikikere nowaki ni taenu ono no shinohara |
Roughly thatched, Even my hut Has blown away: Unable to endure the gales Amongst the arrow bamboo groves… |
358
Both teams say they can appreciate the sentiment of the opposing team’s poem.
Shunzei agrees: ‘Both the Left’s “hills around my dwelling” (oka no be no sato) and the Right’s “arrow bamboo groves” (ono no shinohara) are charming. “Sealed by mugwort was this brushwood door; swept clear by the gale” (yomogi ni tojishi shiba no to mo nowaki ni haruru) and “Even my hut has blown away: unable to endure the gales” (iori made koso nabikikere nowaki ni taenu) have no failings in form between them. Thus, the round ties.’
Left (Tie).
稲妻の光にのみやなぐさめむ田中の里の夕闇の空
| inazuma no hikari ni nomi ya nagusamemu tanaka no sato no yūyami no sora |
Is it lightning’s Light alone, that Can console? Dwelling among the rice-fields Beneath the blackened evening sky. |
327
Right (Tie).
賤の男が山田の庵の苫を粗み漏る稲妻を友とこそ見れ
| shitsu no o ga yamada no io no toma o arami moru inazuma o tomo to koso mire |
A peasant in The mountain fields, whose hut has A rough roof of straw: The lightning dripping in Seems his single friend. |
328
As with the previous round, neither team can find fault with the other’s poem.
Shunzei, however, says, ‘The initial part of the Left’s poem is fine, indeed, but one wonders where the “dwelling among the rice fields” (tanaka no sato) is. I wonder whether nowadays poets can simply refer to a house among the rice fields. I do seem to have heard it before, but for the life of me I cannot remember where. As for the Right’s poem, this, too, has a perfectly standard beginning, but then has the expression “lightning dripping” (moru inazuma) – this seems rather new-fangled to me! Both poems are about the same.’