つらしともいざやいかがはいはし水あふせまだきにたゆる心は
| tsurashi to mo iza ya ikaga wa iwashimizu ause madaki ni tayuru kokoro wa | How cruel! Why as Spring waters rushing from the rocks did Our meeting swiftly Did you wish to end? |
Kazusa, in service to the Empress
23
In reply
世世ふともたえじとぞ思ふ神がきの岩ねをくぐる水の心は
| yo yo futomo taeji to zo omou kamigaki no iwane o kuguru mizu no kokoro wa | Age upon age may pass, yet Never shall we end, I feel, as from The sacred precinct’s Rocky roots flow Waters—that is my heart! |
24
Left (Win).
與謝の海の沖つ潮風浦に吹けまつなりけりと人に聞かせん
| yosa no umi no oki tsu shio kaze ura ni fuke matsunarikeri to hito ni kikasen |
By the sea at Yosa, Tidewinds on the offing, Blow across the bay! That I am waiting without end, Tell him! |
A Servant Girl
983
Right.
浪かくるさしでの磯の岩根松ねにあらはれてかはくまもなし
| nami kakuru sashide no iso no iwane matsu ne ni arawarete kawaku ma mo nashi |
Waves beat Upon the shore at Sashide, where The pine trees on the crags Roots are bared and Never dry for but a moment. |
The Supernumerary Master of the Empress’ Household Office
984
The Right state: the Left’s poem lacks any faults. The Left state: the Right’s poem is pedestrian.
In judgement: the configuration of the Left’s ‘Blow across the bay!’ (ura ni fuke) and its links with the preceding and subsequent lines, sounds charming. The Right’s poem is stylistically elegant, but the poem more closely resembles a poem on the topic of ‘Love and Pine Trees’. Thus, the Left wins.
Left (Win).
夜とともに玉散る床の菅枕見せばや人に夜半の景色を
| yo to tomo ni tama tiru toko no sugamakura miseba ya Fito ni yowa no kesiki wo |
Together with the night Gemlets scatter on my bed’s Sedge-filled pillow; Should I show her This midnight sight? |
The Master 大夫
[Minamoto no Toshiyori 源俊頼]
27
Right.
波のよる岩根に立てる磯馴れ松また寝もいらで恋ひあかしつる
| nami no yoru iFane ni tateru sonare matu mata ne mo irade koFi akasituru |
The waves roll in To the cliffs where stands A hardy pine upon the rocks; Once more sleepless From love do I greet the dawn. |
The Assistant Master 佐
[Fujiwara no Mototoshi 藤原基俊]
28
Left (Win).
思ヘどもまだ見ぬ程は滿つ潮に入りぬる磯のためしだになし
| omoedomo mada minu hodo wa mitsu shio ni irinuru iso no tameshi dani nashi |
I love her, yet Have not caught a glimpse; The rising tide Flooding the rocky shore – There’s not even a case of that! |
Lord Kanemune.
977
Right.
岩根打つ荒磯浪の高きこそまだよそながら袖は濡るなれ
| iwane utsu ara’iso nami no takaki koso mada yosonagara sode wa nuru nare |
Crashing on the crags by The rocky shore, the waves Are high, indeed; Distant, perhaps, but Still my sleeves are soaked… |
Lord Takanobu.
978
Both Left and Right state that the opposing poem lacks a strong conception of the sea.
In judgement: I wonder whether the suggestion by both Left and Right that the poems lack a strong conception of the sea is correct. The Left has ‘the rising tide flooding the rocky shore’ (mitsu shio ni irinuru iso), while the Right has ‘crashing on the crags by the rocky shore’ (iwane utsu ara’iso). If these expressions do not strongly convey the conception of the sea, then I ask you, what would? I wonder, though, how one’s sleeves can get soaked if the waves, though high, are distant. The final section of the Left’s poem is elegant. It wins.
