On wind.
萩の花咲きたる野辺にひぐらしの鳴くなるなへに秋の風吹く
pagi no pana sakitaru nobe ni pigurasi no nakunaru nape ni aki no kaze puku |
Bush clover blooms Flowering in the fields where While the evening cicadas Sing Blows the autumn wind. |
Anonymous
On wind.
萩の花咲きたる野辺にひぐらしの鳴くなるなへに秋の風吹く
pagi no pana sakitaru nobe ni pigurasi no nakunaru nape ni aki no kaze puku |
Bush clover blooms Flowering in the fields where While the evening cicadas Sing Blows the autumn wind. |
Anonymous
Left
玉章のたえだえになるたぐひかな雲井に雁の見えみ見えずみ
tamazusa no taedae ni naru tagui kana kumoi ni kari no miemi miezumi |
His jewelled missives Have become intermittent It seems, just like The geese up in the skies, Glimpsed, and then not seen at all… |
Lord Ari’ie
1051
Right (Win)
思かぬる夜はの袂に風ふけて涙の河に千鳥鳴くなり
omoikanuru yowa no tamoto ni kaze fukete namida no kawa ni chidori nakunari |
Unable to bear my love, At midnight my sleeve is Stirred by the wind, and Upon a river of tears The plovers are crying… |
Nobusada
1052
The Gentlemen of the Right state: we find no faults to mention in the Left’s poem. The Gentlemen of the Left state: we wonder about the reason for emphasising ‘upon a river of tears the plovers’ (namida no kawa ni chidori).
In judgement: the Left on a lover’s letters becoming intermittent, and saying ‘the geese up in the skies, glimpsed, and then not seen at all’ (kumoi ni kari no miemi miezumi) has a charming conception, and elegant diction. The Right, saying ‘at midnight my sleeve is stirred by the wind’ (yowa no tamoto ni kaze fukete) and continuing ‘the plovers are crying’ (chidori nakunari) has a configuration and diction which sounds fine, too. The criticisms of the Gentlemen of the Left are nothing more than ‘a fisherman fishing beneath his pillow’! Although the conception of the Left’s poem is charming, the configuration of the Right’s poem is slightly more notable, so it should win.
Left (Tie)
何とかく結ぼほるらん君はよもあはれとだにも岩代の松
nani to kaku musubohoruran kimi wa yomo aware to dani mo iwashiro no matsu |
For what should we be so Entwined? He simply Thinks of me with pity, And says nothing, O pines of Iwashiro! |
Lord Kanemune
1037
Right
人戀ふる宿の櫻に風吹けば花も涙になりにけるかな
hito kouru yado no sakura ni kaze fukeba hana mo namida ni narinikeru kana |
Loving him, My dwelling’s cherry trees Are blown by the wind, Petals, my tears Have become… |
Nobusada
1038
The Gentlemen of the Right state: the Left’s poem has no faults to mention. The Gentlemen of the Left state: we wonder about the appropriateness of ‘petals, my tears’ (hana mo namida ni).
In judgement: the Left’s poem, with ‘he simply’ (kimi wa yomo) followed by ‘Thinks of me with pity, O pines of Iwashiro!’ (aware to dani mo iwashiro no matsu) is certainly elegant. The Right’s poem does have ‘petals, my tears’ (hana mo namida ni). It commences, ‘loving him, my dwelling’s cherry trees’ (hito kouru yado no sakura) and, when they are blown by the wind, the lady’s eyes darken with tears, and she is unable to distinguish the mass of blossom. It unclear which of the two should be winner, or loser. Thus, I shall make this a tie.
Composed on snow.
霰降りいたく風吹き寒き夜や旗野に今夜我が独り寝む
arare puri itaku kaze puki samuki yo ya patano ni koyopi wa ga pitori nemu |
Hail falls, and Fiercely blows the wind, On this night, so cold; At Hatano, tonight, Must I sleep alone? |
Left (Tie).
遠ざかる人の心は海原の沖行く舟の跡の潮風
tōzakaru hito no kokoro wa unabara no oki yuku funa no ato no shiokaze |
Ever more distant grows His heart: Into the sea-plains of The offing goes a boat, Wake touched by the tidewinds… |
Lord Sada’ie
981
Right.
わたつ海の浪のあなたに人は住む心あらなん風の通ひ路
wata tsu umi no nami no anata ni hito wa sumu kokoro aranan kaze no kayoiji |
The endless sea: Beyond its waves Does my love live; Had they any pity, The winds would make my path to her! |
Nobusada
982
The Gentlemen of the Right state: there are too many uses of no. Would it not have been better to reduce their number with, for example, ‘o, sea-plains!’ (unabara ya)? We also wonder about the use of ‘wake touched by the tidewinds’ (ato no shiokaze). The Gentlemen of the Left state: ‘does my love live’ (hito wa sumu) is grating on the ear.
In judgement: saying that the Left’s poem has too many identical words is clearly relying upon the long-established hornet-hip or crane-knee faults. In today’s poetry there are countless poems in which these faults can be identified. In addition, ‘into the sea-plains’ (unabara no) and ‘o, sea-plains’ (unabara ya) are the same. I may be wrong here, but it seems to me that in this poem, it has to be ‘into the sea-plains’. Finally, ‘wake touched by the tidewinds’ is elegant. As for the Right’s ‘beyond its waves does my love live’ (nami no anata ni hito wa sumu), this is not grating, is it? It seems that the Gentleman of the Right, being so well-read in Chinese scholarship, has required revisions to the faulty poem of the Left in the absence of the judge. Thus, what can a grand old fool do but make the round a tie.
Composed as a poem on blossom.
桜咲く比良の山風吹くままに花になりゆく志賀の浦浪
sakura saku Fira no yamakaze Fuku mama ni Fana ni nariyuku siga no uranami |
Cherries flower on Hira Mountain while Breezes blow All turned to blossom are The waves on Shiga’s shore. |
Middle Captain of the Inner Palace Guards, Left Division, [Fujiwara no] Yoshitsune
左近中将良経
吹く風に漂ふ空の浮き雲をいつまでよそのものとかは見む
fuku kaze ni tadayou sora no ukigumo o itsu made yoso no mono to ka wa mimu |
With the gusting breeze Fluttering through the skies go Drifting clouds; For how long will such distant Things I see? |
Higo, from the Residence of the Kyōgoku Regent
京極関白家肥後
秋の日のあやしきほどの黄昏に荻吹く風の音ぞ聞ゆる
aki no Fi no ayasiki Fodo no tasogare ni wogi Fuku kaze no oto zo kikoyuru |
Autumn days Are most eerie At dusk, when The sound of wind blowing o’er the silver-grass Is all I hear… |
風吹けば磯打つ波の立ち返り見れども飽かぬ君にもあるかな
kaze Fukeba iso utu nami no tatikaFeri miredomo akanu kimi ni mo aru kana |
When the wind does blow Waves strike the rocky shore Again and yet again I see you, yet unsated Of you am I! |
Minamoto no Nakazane
源仲実
Composed when a large number of the Junior Consort’s ladies conducted blossom-viewing during the reign of former Emperor Horikawa.
春毎にあかぬ匂をさくら花いかなる風のをしまざるらむ
Faru goto ni akanu nioFi wo sakurabana ikanaru kaze no woshimazaruramu |
Every single spring Never am I sated by The cherry blossom; What breeze is it that Is not a cause of regret? |
Chikuzen Wet Nurse
筑前乳母