Gosechi 五節
ふみもみぬ雲のかけはし外にのみあまつをとめのきき渡るかな
fumi mo minu kumo no kakehashi soto ni nomi ama tsu otome no kikiwataru kana | Their tread hidden by The spanning bridge of clouds; Simply from afar The heavenly maidens do I hear crossing! |
Tadafusa
Gosechi 五節
ふみもみぬ雲のかけはし外にのみあまつをとめのきき渡るかな
fumi mo minu kumo no kakehashi soto ni nomi ama tsu otome no kikiwataru kana | Their tread hidden by The spanning bridge of clouds; Simply from afar The heavenly maidens do I hear crossing! |
Tadafusa
Gosechi 五節
をとめ子が雲のうへにて袖ふれば日影にまがふあまの羽衣
otomego ga kumo no ue nite sode fureba hikage ni magau ama no hagoromo | The maidens are Above the clouds Sleeves waving, so Indistinguishable from sunlight are Their heavenly gossamer robes! |
Akinaka
When he was instructed by His Majesty to compose a poem, he composed this and presented it.
桜花さきにけらしもあしひきの山の峡よりみゆる白雲
sakurabana sakinikerashi mo asiFiki no yama no kaFi yori miyuru sirakumo | The cherry blossom Seems to have bloomed, and from The leg-wearying Mountain passes Appears white billowing clouds. |
Tsurayuki
New Year Archery
あづさ弓ひくひくたれもいのるらんかたわくけふのくものうへ人
azusayumi hikuhiku taremo inoruran katawaku kyō no kumo no uebito | A catalpa bow Drawing and drawing, someone Is surely praying; Divided into teams today are The folk above the clouds. |
Kanemasa
Left. Spring
あら玉の年もかはらぬふるさとの雪のうちにも春はきにけり
aratama no toshi mo kawaranu furusato no yuki no uchi ni mo haru wa kinikeri |
To the fresh jeweled Year the change has yet to come, yet Around my familiar home Even within the snows The spring is here! |
1
Ninnaji gojūshu, Kenkyū 1 [1190]
Right
冬ながら花ちる空のかすめるは雲のこなたに春やきつらむ
fuyu nagara hana chiru sora no kasumeru wa kumo no konata ni haru ya kitsuramu |
It’s winter now, yet Are the blossom-scattering skies Hazed Beneath the clouds by The arrival of spring, perhaps? |
2
Left
さりともと待べき程の情かは人頼めなる蛛のふるまゐ
sari tomo to matsubeki hodo no nasake ka wa hito tanomenaru kumo no furumai |
However faint, I thought, Through all my waiting hours Were his feelings, He can be trusted, Says the spider’s spinning! |
Lord Ari’ie
1071
Right (Win)
はかなくぞさもあらましに待たれぬる頼めぬ宵の蜘蛛のふるまゐ
hakanaku zo sa mo aramashi ni matarenuru tanomenu yoi no kumo no furumai |
Fleeting, but So be it, then, I thought, Awaiting; How unreliable is this night’s Spider’s spinning… |
Lord Takanobu
1072
Left and Right together: both poems are about spiders, and have no faults to mention.
In judgement: both poems seem elegant in their reference to ‘spider’s spinning’ (kumo no furumai). However, the Left’s central section recalls ‘Men are not trees or stone – they have feelings’ – while this is elegant diction in Chinese composition, it does not seem so in our own poetry. The Right’s ‘so be it then, I thought’ (sa mo aramashi) is fine, but ‘unreliable is this night’ (tanomenu yoi) sounds as if the night is already over. Princess Sotōri, too, has ‘must surely come tonight’ (kubeki yoi nari), but then appears to have ‘a certain sign’ (kanete shirushi mo). Still, this is surely describing a situation where one once had doubts, but feel that tonight is reliable. The Right is slightly superior.
天雲のたゆたひ来れば九月の黄葉の山もうつろひにけり
amakumo no tayutapikureba nagatuki no momidi no yama mo uturopinikeri |
As Heaven’s clouds Come fluttering In the Longest Month Autumn leaves upon the mountains Have paled in hue. |
かくばかり雲の上高くのぼれれば駆ける鳥だにあらじとぞ思ふ
kaku bakari kumo no uFe takaku noborereba kakeru tori dani arazi to zo omoFu |
Thus, when simply High above the clouds They rise Not even the speeding birds Do match them, I feel. |
16
Left (Tie)
仄かなる声を聞きては時鳥鳴きつる方をまづぞ求むる
Fonokanaru kowe wo kikite Fa Fototogisu nakituru kata wo madu zo motomuru |
Your faint Song I do hear O, cuckoo, Along the path you call Am I in truth invited. |
9
Right
小夜更けぬ布留の都の 時鳥帰る雲路の声を聞かせよ
sayo Fukete Furu no miyako no Fototogisu kaFeru kumodi no kowe wo kikaseyo |
The brief night dawns At the ancient capital of Furu; O, cuckoo From your homeward path among the clouds Let me hear your song! |
10
Composed when Princess Nukata went to Ōmi.
三輪山をしかも隠すか雲だにも心あらなも隠さふべしや
miwayama wo sikamo kakusu ka kumo dani mo kokoro ara na mo kakusapubesi ya |
Mount Miwa, Why are you concealed? Had the clouds but Sense, I wish They would hide you not! |
Princess Nukata
額田王