Round Six
Left
雲かかる高志のやまの明暮に妻まどはせるを鹿鳴くなり
| kumo kakaru takashi no yama no akegure ni tsuma madowaseru oshika naku nari | All hung about with cloud On Takashi Mountain In the gloaming Having lost his mate A stag bells out. |
Nakamasa
11
Right
山がつの先あかつきをしりがほに裾野に出でて鹿ぞ鳴くなる
| yamagatsu no mazu akatsuki o shirigao ni susono ni idete shika zo naku naru | A mountain man First of all, that ‘tis dawn Knows plain upon his face, As he sets out upon the slopes As a stag bells out! |
Head
12
The Left poem’s conclusion, ‘Having lost his mate / A stag bells out’ seems no different from that of a poem by Gō no Jijū in poetry match held by the First Princess.[1] As for the poem of the Right’s ‘A mountain man / Awaits the dawn / Knowing plain upon his face’—what on earth might a mountain man look like while waiting for dawn? There is the tale of Hangu Pass in Cathay, where the barrier guard was waiting for dawn and opened the gate after hearing a cock’s crow, but the expression ‘a mountain man awaits the dawn’ has never appeared before in a poem—either one of Cathay or in the words of Yamato, so I feel that both Left and Right lack any superlative qualities.
[1] Stags. をぐら山たちどもみえぬゆふぎりにつままどはせるしかぞなくなる ogurayama / tachidomo mienu / yūgiri ni / tsuma madowaseru / shika zo nakunaru ‘On gloomy Ogura Mountain / Stands unseen / Among the evening mists / Having lost his mate / A belling stag.’ (Yūshi naishinnō-ke uta’awase eishō go-nen 27). This event was held at the residence of Imperial Princess Sukeko (Yūshi) on the 5th day of the Sixth Month, Eishō 5 [26.10.1050]. The poem won its round, and was later included in Goshūishū (IV: 292).
Round Seven
Left
秋の夜はながゐのうらにとまりしてのどかにてらすありあけの月
| aki no yo wa nagai no ura ni tomarishite nodoka ni terasu ariake no tsuki | Autumn nights Are long at Nagai Bay Lodging, and Gently shining The dawntime moon. |
Lady Kazusa
41
Right (Win)
秋の夜のくもふきはらふあらしこそ月みるひとのこころなりけれ
| aki no yo no kumo fuki’harau arashi koso tsuki miru hito no kokoro narikere | On an autumn night The clouds a’blowing away, The storm wind, truly, As someone gazing upon the moon Has the selfsame heart! |
Lady Shikibu
42
The poem of the Left certainly imagines the scene just as it is. With that being said, however, the dawntime moon is not present long enough. The Right’s poem simply sounds like one composed by Atsutaka for the ‘Poetry Match held at the Residence of the Former Captain of the Outer Palace Guards, Left Division’.[i] Thus, it’s impossible for me to determine a winner or loser.
It’s a poem which we see in the Poetry Match at Lord Moroyori’s Residence.
冬のよの雲ふきはらふ木枯や月見る人の心なるらむ
| fuyu no yo no kumo fuki’harau kogarashi ya tsuki miru hito no kokoro naruramu | On a winter’s night The clouds a’blowing away, The bitter wind, indeed, As someone gazing upon the moon The same heart seems to have![ii] |
In the poem of the Left, is it the moon or the poet who is lodging at Nagai Bay? If it’s the moon, then ‘lodging’ is erroneous; if it’s the poet, then ‘gently shining’ doesn’t work. In addition to this vagueness, I do also question whether ‘dawntime’ sounds appropriate. As for the Right’s poem, ‘as someone gazing at the moon / Has the selfsame heart!’ is an elegant conception, and the diction is also smooth. It reminds me of an earlier work by someone else. Thus, it wins.
[i] This match has a several different titles, Mototoshi refers to here as both: Zen sa-hyōe no kami no ie no uta’awase 前左兵衛督家歌合 and also Moriyori-kyō no ie uta’awase 師頼卿家歌合, but it is also known as the ‘Poetry Match held by the Late Master of the of the Crown Prince’s Household’ (Ko-tōgū daibu ie uta’awase 故東宮大夫家歌合) and the ‘Poetry held by Moroyori, Captain of the Outer Palace Guards, Right Division’ (U-hyōe no kami moroyori uta’awase 右兵衛督師頼歌合): the text of this match is no longer extant, but it is known to have taken place in the winter Tennin 天仁 2 (1109). Fujiwara no Kiyosuke notes that it was judged by Toshiyori, but Mototoshi disagreed with his assessments and submitted at set of judgements of his own in appeal (Fujioka 1995, 212).
[ii] This poem is included in Shoku shikashū (VI: 293), attributed to Moroyori, with the headnote, ‘Composed on the moon in winter’.
Round Five
Left
あきのよのふけゆくかぜにくもはれてはなだのそらにすめるつきかげ
| aki no yo no fukeyuku kaze ni kumo harete hanada no sora ni sumeru tsukikage | As the autumn night Wears on, the wind Clears away the cloud, and From the pale indigo sky Comes clear moonlight. |
Controller’s Graduate
37
Right
ふるさとのときぞともなきさびしさもなぐさむばかりすめる月かな
| furusato no toki zo tomonaki sabishisa mo nagusamu bakari sumeru tsuki kana | In the ancient capital Timeless is The lonely sadness Consoled only By the clear, bright moon! |
Kerin’in Graduate
38
The Left’s poem is a transparent copy of an older work. That poem is:
天の原四方のむら雲吹きはらひみどりの空にすめる月影
| ama no hara yomo no muragumo fukiharai midori no sora ni sumeru tsukikage | Across the plain of Heaven All the crowding clouds Are blown away, and From the sky so green Comes clear moonlight.[i] |
I don’t feel this is in any way different. As for the Right’s poem, while it is not the case that it is entirely without conception, it lacks any exemplary elements, so I don’t see how I can possibly recommend either of these.
The Left’s poem isn’t bad, but it should be revised to use ‘sky so green’, because using ‘pale indigo sky’ is vague. To decide in favour of it I would need there to be a prior poem as precedent. The Right’s poem is not particularly exemplary, but it does sound as if there are times like that. In the absence of a precedent for the Left, the poem of the Right wins.
[i] The source of this poem is unknown.
Round Seven
Left
ほととぎすひとこゑなきてすぎぬれどしたふ心ぞちぢにありける
| hototogisu hitokoe nakite suginuredo shitau kokoro zo chiji ni arikeru | The cuckoo A single call cried out, and Passed me by, yet Missing him, my heart He left in a thousand, thousand pieces. |
Lady Kazusa
27
Right (Win)
ほととぎすくものたえまにもる月のかげほのかにもなきわたるかな
| hototogisu kumo no taema ni moru tsuki no kage honoka ni mo nakiwataru kana | The cuckoo, as From a gap between the clouds Drips the moon’s Light, faintly Calls on! |
Lady Shikibu
28
Both poems are of the same quality.
The Left’s poem really makes me wonder why that should be the case, with the final ‘he left’ putting me in mind of someone in court dress who has forgotten to put on his shoes! The Right’s poem appears rather more bright than it needs to be. Furthermore, if one says that the ‘light is faint’ then shouldn’t the moon be hidden by the clouds? It’s vague over that, but if there were a prior poem as precedent, then it would be a good composition. For the present, I will make it the winner.
Round Twenty-Four
Left (Tie)
覚束なたれきけとてか時鳥さよふけ方の雲に鳴くらん
| obotsukana tare kike tote ka hototogisu sayo fukegata no kumo ni nakuran | I do not understand— Who is it that you demand hears you, O, cuckoo? Toward brief night’s dawn, Calling from within the clouds… |
Tomoshige
47
Right
待ちかねしよはも昔にかはらねばことしもつらし山時鳥
| machikaneshi yowa mo mukashi ni kawaraneba kotoshi mo tsurashi yamahototogisu | Eagerly awaiting Midnight, to find—as long before— It all unchanged, so This year, too, how cruel is The mountain cuckoo! |
Dharma Master Zenshin
48
Both Left and Right sound suitable. So, they should tie.
Round Twenty-Two
Left (Win)
五月雨にやすらふ暮の時鳥そなたの雲に声なへだてそ
| samidare ni yasurau kure no hototogisu sonata no kumo ni koe na hedate so | In a summer shower, Hesitating, at twilight, O, cuckoo, Let not the intervening clouds Interrupt your song! |
Shō
43
Right
過ぎぬなりさやはちぎりし時鳥なく音ばかりはこぞにかはらで
| suginunari saya wa chigirishi hototogisu naku ne bakari wa kozo ni kawarade | And so you’ve flown by— Is that what you vowed, O, cuckoo? For only the sound of your song Is unchanged from the year before… |
Nagatsuna
44
The Left’s poem doesn’t seem bad. The Right poem’s ‘For only the sound of your song is unchanged from the year before’ is somewhat difficult to grasp—if the cuckoo’s call has not changed, then what has? After all, cuckoos have ‘the voice of yesteryear’[1]—among other references—so it’s obvious that their calls don’t change, so the Left is somewhat better, I think.
[1] KKS III: 137
Round Nineteen
Left (Tie)
なれをしぞあはれとはおもふ時鳥あかず過ぎても歳のへぬれば
| nare o shizo aware to wa omou hototogisu akazu sugite mo toshi no henureba | You, indeed, do Deeply move me O, cuckoo! Never sated am I Through all the passing years… |
The Supernumerary Major Counsellor
37
Right
われならで何をうしとか時鳥ことしも雲のよそに鳴くらん
| ware narade nani o ushi to ka hototogisu kotoshi mo kumo no yoso ni nakuran | Not I, but What is it distresses you so, O, cuckoo? That this year, too, from the clouds Yonder side you seem to sing… |
Lord Nobunari
38
Both Left and Right don’t sound bad, so again this is a tie.
