Tag Archives: koe

Entō ōn’uta’awase 17

Round Seventeen

Cuckoos

Left (Tie)

さのみやは心あるべき時鳥ね覚の空に一声もがな

sanomi ya wa
kokoro arubeki
hototogisu
nezame no sora ni
hitogoe mogana
Not much of
The heart can you know,
O, cuckoo, but
On waking from the sky
I would hear a single call.

A Court Lady
33

Right

やはた山むかひの里の郭公しのびしかたの声もかはらず

yawatayama
mukai no sato no
hototogisu
shinobishi kata no
koe mo kawarazu
By Yawata Mountain,
At the estate of Mukai,
A cuckoo,
Fondly remembers someone
With a changeless song!

Lord Ietaka
34

The Left’s poem would seem to fail to reflect the essential meaning of the topic of cuckoos by having it not yet being heard, and thus its overall technique seems dreadful. The Right’s poem also lacks any superlative elements, they must tie.

KYS IV: 270

Composed on plovers on the road to the barrier.

あはぢしまかよふちどりの鳴く声にいくよねざめぬすまの関もり

awajishima
kayou chidori no
naku koe ni
ikuyo nezamenu
suma no sekimori
Around Awaji Isle
The plovers fly about;
Their calling cries
Start him awake on how many nights—
The barrier warden of Suma?

Minamoto no Kanemasa

A kuzushiji version of the poem's text.
Created with Soan.