Tag Archives: kumoi

Sahyōe no suke sadafumi uta’awase 19

Left

つのくにのながらへゆかばわすれなくいまもみまくのほりえなるらむ

tsu no kuni no
nagara e yukaba
wasurenaku
ima mo mimaku no
horie naruramu
If, into the land of Tsu
To Nagara I go,
I’ll forget you not, and
Now to see you
More is what I want!

37

Right (Win)

ひさかたのくもゐはるかにありしよりそらにこころのなりにしものを

hisakata no
kumoi haruka ni
arishi yori
sora ni kokoro no
narinishi mono o
The eternal
Clouds distant
Ever were—so
In the skies, my heart
With them did dwell.

38

Sahyōe no suke sadafumi uta’awase 7

The Middle of Autumn

Left (Tie)

くもゐよりてりやまさるときよたきのそこにてもみむあきのつきかげ

kumoi yori
teri ya masaru to
kiyotaki no
soko nite mo mimu
aki no tsukikage
From the clouds
Does it shine most bright?
On Kiyotaki’s
Riverbed I see
Autumn moonlight.

13

Right

人しれぬねをやなくらんあきはぎのはなさくまでにしかのこゑせぬ

hito shirenu
ne o ya nakuran
aki hagi no
hana saku made ni
shika no koe senu
That no one may know
Quietly, does he cry?
Until the autumn bush clover
Blooms flower
The stag’s bell stays silent.

Mitsune
14

Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta’awase 97

Left

あさかげに我が身はなりぬ白雲のたえてきこえぬ人をこふとて

asakage ni
wa ga mi wa narinu
shirakumo no
taete kikoenu
hito o kou tote
In the morning light
I have become
A cloud of white that
Says, endlessly, that
I do love you.

188

Right

ちかけれど人め人めをもるころは雲井はるけき身とやなりなん

chikakeredo
hitome hitome o
moru koro wa
kumoi harukeki
mi to ya narinan
Close by, they are, yet
When against prying, prying eyes
I would be on guard,
Completely cloudless
Could I appear?

189

Kanpyō no ōntoki kisai no miya uta’awase 45

Left

をみなへし匂へる野辺にやどりせばあやなくあだの名をやたちなん

ominaeshi
nioeru nobe ni
yadoriseba
ayanaku ada no
na o ya tachinan
A maidenflower
Shines in the meadows, and
Should I find lodging there,
Carelessly, would fickle
Rumour arise?

Ono no Yoshiki
88

Right

秋風にさそはれ来つる雁がねの雲ゐはるかにけふぞ聞ゆる

akikaze ni
sasowarekitsuru
kari ga ne no
kumoi haruka ni
kyō zo kikoyuru
On the autumn breeze
Has come, inviting,
A goose’s cry
From among the distant clouds
Today I hear it.

89

Dairi uta’awase Kanna Gan-nen 1

On the tenth day of the Eighth Month, Kanna 1,[1] His Majesty[2] entered the Courtiers’ Hall briefly and divided the gentlemen in attendance into teams for a poetry contest. His Majesty’s partner was Supernumerary Middle Counsellor Kintō, and he provided of the four topics. Judgements were by Koreshige.

Moon

Left (Win)

あきのよのつきにこころはあくがれてくもゐにものをおもふころかな

aki no yo no
tsuki ni kokoro wa
akugarete
kumoi ni mono o
omou koro kana
On an autumn night
By the moon is my heart
Entranced;
Things beyond the clouds
Fill my thoughts a while!

His Majesty
1

Right

いつもみるつきぞとおもへどあきのよはいかなるかげをそふるなるらん

itsumo miru
tsuki zo to omoe
aki no yo wa
ikanaru kage o
souru naruran
Every time I see
The moon it fills my thoughts, but
On an autumn night
What light is it that
Does seem to cover all?

Lord Kintō
2


[1] 28.8.985

[2] Emperor Kazan 花山 (968-1008; r. 984-986).

Love VIII: 16

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.