Mandarin Ducks 鴛鴦
夜とともにおもふことなきをし鳥やかげとならびの池にすむらん
| yo to tomo ni omou koto naki oshidori ya kage to narabi no ike ni sumuran | With night’s fall Heedlessly Does the mandarin Together with his reflection Seek to dwell upon the pond? |
Daishin
Tag Archives: kage
Eikyū hyakushu 398
Mandarin Ducks 鴛鴦
みさびゐぬかがみの池にすむをしはみづからかげをならべてぞみる
| misabi inu kagami no ike ni sumu oshi wa mizukara kage o narabete zo miru | A rust-red stained Mirror is the pond where Dwells a mandarin: His own water-borne reflection Does he match and gaze upon… |
Higo
Eikyū hyakushu 397
Mandarin Ducks 鴛鴦
山河にともなきをしはかげをみてひとつがひある心ちすらしも
| yamakawa ni tomonaki oshi wa kage o mite hitotsugai aru kokochi sura shimo | In a mountain stream A mateless mandarin does See a shape and A pair Even he feels himself to be! |
Kanemasa
KKS II: 102
A poem from a poetry competition held by Her Majesty, the Empress, during the Kanpyō period.
春霞色のちぐさに見えつるはたなびく山の花のかげかも
| Farugasumi iro no tigusa ni mieturu Fa tanabiku yama no Fana no kage kamo | The haze of spring has Countless hues It does appear; Streaming across the mountains with The blossoms’ glow. |
Fujiwara no Okikaze
Eikyū hyakushu 55
The Iwashimizu Special Festival (石清水臨時祭)
きみがよののどけきかげをくみみれば流たえせぬ石清水かな
| kimi ga yo no nodokeki kage o kumi mireba nagare taesenu iwashimizu kana | When, My Lord, your reign’s Calm light I gather all together, in my sight is The endless current Of Iwashimizu. |
Higo
Eikyū hyakushu 3
New Year’s Day
今日よりは我をもちゐの増鏡うれしきかげをうつしてぞ見む
| kyō yori wa ware o mochi’i no masukagami ureshiki kage o utsushite zo mimu | From today Holding me within shall This glass so clear A joyous face Reflected see! |
Toshiyori
Love X: 11
Left (Tie)
東路や萱津の原の朝霧に起き別るらん袖はものかは
| azumaji ya kayatsu no hara no asagiri ni okiwakaruran sode wa mono ka wa | On the eastern roads, Upon the field of Kayatsu With the morning mists Does he rise and part, but Are his sleeves as mine? |
Lord Ari’ie
1161
Right
さまざまにうつる心も鏡山影見ぬ人を恋ふるものかは
| samazama ni utsuru kokoro mo kagamiyama kage minu hito o kouru mono ka wa | Many Hearts does she attract upon Mirror Mount, But with one whose face remains unseen Would I fall in love? |
Lord Takanobu
1162
The Right state: the Left’s poem is fine. The Left state: the Right’s poem has no faults to mention.
In judgement: both poems are certainly by men entranced by thoughts of player-girls. The configuration and diction of ‘are his sleeves as mine?’ (sode wa mono ka wa) and ‘would I fall in love?’ (kouru mono ka wa) are both not unpleasant. Thus, I make this a tie.
Love IX: 17
Left (Tie)
ます鏡うつしかへけむ姿ゆへ影絶えはてし契をぞ知る
| masukagami utsushikaekemu sugata yue kage taehateshi chigiri o zo shiru |
A clear glass Will reflect back My true face, yet A form fixed forever Reveals his my vow to me… |
A Servant Girl
1113
Right
戀妻に似てや書らん見つるより絵にも心をうつしつる哉
| koizuma ni nite ya kakuran mitsuru yori e ni mo kokoro o utsushitsuru kana |
My beloved wife: Does this so resemble her, that at The mere sight of The painting, my heart Does move? |
Lord Tsune’ie
1114
The Right state: the Left’s poem has no faults. The Left state: the Right’s poems contains a fault, does it not?
In judgement: What are we to make of the Left’s ‘In a clear glass my ever-changing reflected’ (masukagami utsushikaekemu)? While I have the feeling that there is a source for this poem, this aged official is completely unable to grasp it what it might be. It is not the case that the poem is lacking in an elegant style. The Gentlemen of the Left have commented on the existence of a fault in the Right’s poem. Perhaps the two cranes (tsuru)? This type of issue relating to a poem’s formal diction does not seem that serious to me. However, saying ‘does this so resemble her, that at’ (nite ya kakuran) is insufficient in terms of expression. The Left’s ‘clear glass’ would win, if its source were clear, but in its absence, it is difficult to make it the winner.
KYS VIII: 470
Composed when a man who had said she could definitely rely on him to come with the evening, said she would not see him until the 20th of the month.
契りおきし人も梢の木間よりたのめぬ月の影ぞもりくる
| tigiri okisi Fito mo kozuwe no ko no ma yori tanomenu tuki no kage zo morikuru |
He promised, but He does not come, and from the treetops Through the trees The fickle moon’s Light comes dripping. |
Horikawa, from the Regent’s Household
摂政家堀川
Love VII: 17
Left.
人心さのみはいかゞ水無瀬川我には淺き契なるらむ
| hito kokoro sa nomi wa ikaga minasegawa ware ni wa asaki chigiri naruramu |
Her heart Is just like it; why as The Minase River So shallow for me Should her feelings be? |
Lord Suetsune
993
Right (Win).
いかにして影をも見まし澤田河袖つくほどの契りなりとも
| ika ni shite kage o mo mimashi sawadagawa sode tsuku hodo no chigiri naritomo |
No matter what I would see her face in The River Sawada, Even if my sleeves get drenched By my feelings… |
Ietaka.
994
Both Left and Right together state: there are no faults to indicate.
In judgement: using ‘the Minase River’ (minasegawa) preceded by ‘is just like it; why as’ (sa nomi wa ika ni) sounds charming in style, but ‘should her feelings be?’ (chigiri naruramu) means the end of the poem is a bit dry! ‘The River Sawada, even if my sleeves get drenched’ (sawadagawa sode tsuku hodo no) sounds pleasant. Thus, the Right wins.