木の間よりなびく夕日のほどもなし嵐に吹雪く小夜の中山
| ko no ma yori nabiku yūhi no hodo mo nashi arashi ni fubuku sayo no nakayama |
From between the trees The evening sun tries to stream But finds no space; Wind-blown by the storms is Sayo-no-Nakayama. |
Ietaka
Tag Archives: Ietaka
Minishū 1947
Love IV: 26
Left (Win).
慰めてまどろむ程の戀ならば夜さへ物は思はざらまし
| nagusamete madoromu hodo no koi naraba yoru sae mono wa omowazaramashi |
Feeling some relief, Enough, at least, to doze: If that was my love, then Until the fall of night I would wish to avoid these gloomy thoughts. |
Lord Suetsune.
831
Right.
目に見えぬ夜こそまされ天雲のよそに成行く人のつらさは
| me ni mienu yoru koso masare amagumo no yoso ni nariyuku hito no tsurasa wa |
When all goes unseen At night, it overwhelms me: The cloudy heavens’ Distance, where he has gone So heartlessly. |
Ietaka.
832
The Right state: there are no faults to indicate. The Left state: we wonder about the suitability of the impression conveyed by ‘When all goes unseen at night’ (me ni mienu yoru) on hearing it.
In judgement: the poem of the Right, with its ‘The cloudy heavens’ distance, where he has gone’ (amagumo no yoso ni nariyuku) is elegant, but it is certain that ‘When all goes unseen’ (me ni mienu) recalls the expression from the Kokin Preface, ‘unseen gods and demons’. The Left’s poem sounds pleasantly realised from beginning to end. It should win.
Love IV: 23
Left (Win).
君もまた夕や分きて眺むらん忘れず拂ふ荻の風哉
| kimi mo mata yūbe ya wakite nagamuran wasurezu harau ogi no kaze kana |
Are you, once more, my darling, Spending this evening On thoughts of love? Faithfully sweeps The wind across the silver-grass… |
A Servant Girl.
825
Right.
時しもあれ悲しかりける思ひかな秋の夕に人は忘れじ
| toki shi mo are kanashikarikeru omoi kana aki no yūbe ni hito wa wasureji |
Of all the times there are, now Does sadness Most fill my thoughts; On an autumn evening Unable to forget her… |
Ietaka.
826
The Right state: we wonder about the appropriateness of ‘faithfully sweeps’ (wasurezu harau). The Left state: while the Right’s poem is in keeping with the conception of the topic, it seem as if the reference to ‘evening’ serves little purpose.
In judgement: the Left’s ‘Spending this evening on thoughts of love’ (yūbe ya wakite nagamuran) is appropriate, but I find ‘The wind across the silver-grass’ (ogi no kaze) somewhat problematic. The initial section of the Right’s poem, too, is not bad, but saying ‘On an autumn evening unable to forget her’ (aki no yūbe ni hito wa wasureji) suggests that forgetting is the norm, and I wonder about that. The Left wins on account of its initial section.
Minishū 1727
Minishū 2296
ho ni mo idenu
Love IV: 12
Left.
ひとり寢の袖の名殘の朝じめり日影に消えぬ露もありけり
| hitorine no sode no nagori no asajimeri hikage ni kienu tsuyu mo arikeri |
Sleeping solo My sleeves remain Damp in the morning; The sunlight leaves untouched The dewfall there. |
A Servant Girl.
803
Right (Win).
道芝を分けて露けき袖ならば濡れても暮を待たまし物を
| michishiba o wakete tsuyukeki sode naraba nuretemo kure mo matamashi mono o |
If the roadside grasses, Have brushed dewfall On these sleeves, May to dampen them again, ‘til evening I would wish to wait… |
Ietaka.
804
The Right state: we find no faults in the Left’s poem. The Left state: there is a very recent poem, ‘If he would be wet with waves should surely wait for evening?’.
In judgement: simply saying, ‘Sleeping solo my sleeves remain damp in the morning’ (hitorine no sode no nagori no asajimeri) seems to lack the conception of love. I wonder who might have written the ‘recent poem’, ‘If he would be wet with waves should surely wait for evening?’ mentioned by the Right? How, indeed, can we avoid poems which are not in the anthologies? In any case, the poem here is ‘May to dampen them again, ‘til evening I would wish to wait’ and the initial line is different. This level of resemblance between poems is not uncommon. The Right’s poem is pleasant. It should win.
Love IV: 3
Left.
きぬぎぬにいまやならんのあらましに逢はぬ床さへ起きぞやられぬ
| kinuginu ni ima ya naran mo aramashi ni awanu toko sae oki zo yararenu |
The time to dress, and part Is now and So it must be, Even from my lonely bed I find I cannot rise… |
Lord Suetsune.
785
Right.
明けぬとて別れし空の鐘の音は訪るゝさへ恨めしき哉
| akenu tote wakareshi sora no kane no oto wa otozururu sae urameshiki kana |
Dawn has come and Our parting to the skies The bells do sound; That they have rung – I hate it! |
Ietaka.
786
Left and Right both have nothing particular to say.
In judgement: One would have no reason to force oneself from a ‘lonely bed’ (awanu toko) would one [shiite okubekarazu ya]? The Right’s ‘that they have rung’ (otozururu sae) sounds insufficient
[orokani kikoyu]. So, the round should tie.
Love III: 27
Left.
わが中を布留の荒田とうち捨て誰にゆきあひの早稲作らん
| wa ga naka o furu no arada to uchisutete tare ni yukiai no wase tukuran |
Our love As the overgrown fields at Furu Has been abandoned; Who do you go to now, To grow fresh seedlings? |
Kenshō
773
Right (Win).
山深み苔の下もる谷水や年経る恋の涙なるらん
| yama fukami koke no shita moru tanimizu ya toshi heru koi no namida naruran |
Deep within the mountains From underneath the moss leaks Water to the valleys; Enduring through the years are my love’s Tears… |
Ietaka
774
Both teams say the poems have no fault.
In judgement: both poems seem equal in expression, but the quality of the lower section of the Left’s poem is extremely poor, so I make the Right’s ‘from underneath the moss leaks’ (koke no shita moru) the winner.