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
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
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
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
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).
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.