Left
月夜には花とぞ見ゆる竹のうへに降りしく雪を誰かはらはむ
| tsukiyo ni wa hana to zo miyuru take no ue ni furishiku yuki o tare ka harawamu | On a moonlit night As blossom it appears, so From the bamboo The fallen, scattered, snow— Who would sweep it away? |
151
Right
しら雪を分けてわかるるかたみには袖に涙のこほるなりけり
| shirayuki o wakete wakaruru katami ni wa sode ni namida no kōru narikeri | That through the snow so white I pressed on, forging, A keepsake is The tears upon my sleeves, All frozen. |
152
Left
春霞色の千ぐさにみえつるはたなびく山の花のかげかも
| harugasumi iro no chigusa ni mieturu wa tanabiku yama no hana no kage kamo | The haze of spring has Countless hues It does appear; Streaming across the mountains with The blossoms’ glow. |
Okikaze
37[1]
Right
日くるればかつちる花をあたらしみ春のかたみにつみぞいれつる
| hi kurureba katsu chiru hana o atarashimi haru no katami ni tsumi zo iretsuru | When the sun goes down, With the scattering blossoms Feel renewed— As a keepsake of spring Have I plucked them up! |
38
[1] Kokinshū II: 102/Shinsen man’yōshū 25/Kokin rokujō I: 620
Left
水のうへにあやおりみだる春雨や山のみどりをなべてそむらん
| mizu no ue ni aya orimidaru harusame ya yama no midori o nabete somuran | Upon the waters A confusing pattern paints The rain of spring— Will it now the mountains All dye with green, I wonder? |
19[1]
Right
色ふかくみる野辺だにも常ならば春は行くともかたみならまし
| iro fukaku miru nobe dani mo tsune naraba haru wa yuku tomo katami naramashi | Deep the hues On display within the meadows—if that Should be the norm, then Even when the spring is gone A keepsake they would be. |
20[2]
[1] Shinsen man’yōshū 1/Kokin rokujō I: 460/A minor variant of this poem also occurs in Shinkokinshū (I: 65), where it is attributed to Ise: 水のおもにあやおりみだる春雨や山のみどりをなべてそむらん mizu no omo ni / aya orimidaru / harusame ya / yama no midori o / nabete somuran ‘Upon the water’s surface / A confusing pattern paints / The rain of spring— / Will it now the mountains / All dye with green, I wonder?’
[2] Shinchokusenshū II: 89
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
色ふかくみる野辺だにも常ならば春は行くともかたみならまし
| iro fukaku miru nobe dani mo tsune naraba haru wa yuku tomo katami naramashi | Deep the hues On display within the meadows—if that Should be the norm, then Even when the spring is gone A keepsake they would be. |
Anonymous
Composed on the conception of changing into summer clothes, when a Hundred Poem Sequence was presented to His Majesty, Emperor Horikawa.
夏ごろもはなのたもとにぬぎかへて春のかたみもとまらざりけり
| natsugoromo hana no tamoto ni nugikaete haru no katami mo tomarazarikeri | For summer garb Blossom-laden sleeves I remove, and with the change Those keepsakes of springtime Fail to linger on. |
Former Middle Counsellor Masafusa
A poem from a poetry competition held by Her Majesty, the Empress, during the Kanpyō period.
梅が香を袖にうつしてとどめてば春は過ぐとも形見ならまし
| mume ga ka wo sode ni utusite todometeba Faru Fa sugutomo katami naramasi | If only the plums’ scent Would shift to my sleeves and Stay there, then Even when spring is past and gone A keepsake would it be… |
Anonymous
Left (Win)
うらやまず臥す猪の床はやすくとも歎も形見寢ぬも契りを
| urayamazu fusu i no toko wa yasukutomo nageku mo katami nenu mo chigiri o |
I do not envy The boar lounging in his bed: He may be at ease, yet Grief, too, is a memento; Lying sleepless marks our bond… |
Lord Sada’ie
1061
Right
いかにわれ臥す猪の床に身をかへて夢の程だに契結はん
| ika ni ware fusu i no toko ni mi o kaete yume no hodo dani chigiri musuban |
Somehow I To a boar lounging in his bed Would change myself, and For just a brief dream’s length Would form a bond with you… |
Lord Takanobu
1062
The Gentlemen of the Right state: the initial line of the Left’s poem sounds poor. The sense of the ending, too, is difficult to grasp. The Gentlemen of the Left state: we wonder about the appropriateness of changing oneself into a bed.
In judgement: both Left and Right refer to ‘a boar lounging in his bed’ (fusu i no toko), and it has been mentioned that the initial line of the Left’s poem sounds poor, and that its ending is difficult to grasp. There really are a number of unacceptable aspects to this poem, are there not, so I cannot add any further words to what has been said. The Right’s poem is not suggesting that one change oneself into a bed. It is saying that one should briefly become a boar, that one might dream briefly of love. How can one possibly see the dream of a boar lying asleep? It certainly seems inferior to ‘not envying a lounging boar’.