In this video, I discuss the images and sense of the poems on the topic of ‘Lingering Heat’.
Tag Archives: Lingering Heat
Eikyū hyakushu 217
Eikyū hyakushu 214
Eikyū hyakushu 213
Eikyū hyakushu 212
Eikyū hyakushu 211
Eikyū hyakushu 216
Autumn I: 6
Left.
打ち寄する浪より秋の龍田川さても忘れぬ柳陰かな
| uchiyosuru nami yori aki no tatsutagawa satemo wasurenu yanagikage kana |
Approaching on The waves, comes autumn to The Tatsuta River; And yet, I cannot forget The willows’ shade. |
311
Right.
秋淺き日影に夏は殘れども暮るゝ籬は荻の上風
| aki asaki hikage ni natsu wa nokoredomo kururu magaki wa ogi no uwakaze |
Faintly autumnal is The sunlight, with summer Yet remaining; At evening by the rough-woven fence Blows a breeze o’er the silver-grass. |
312
The Right say the Left’s poem is ‘particularly good.’ The Left state that, ‘“Faintly autumnl” (aki asaki) grates on the ear, and we also cannot grasp the use of “evening by the rough-woven fence” (kururu magaki).’
Shunzei states, ‘The Left’s “approaching on the waves” (nami yori aki no), seems particularly charming, but when taken together with “willows’ shade” (yanagi kade)– the Tatsuta River has long been the subject of composition on “flowing scarlet autumn leaves”, and even now this gives a slightly poetic effect; “willows’ shade” has been used in composition, both in ancient times and more recently, but does it not seem commonplace now? The Right’s poem is in the same vein as that of the Right in Round One Hundred and Fifty-Two, yet I do not find “faintly autumnal” to be unpleasant. “Evening by the rough-woven fence”, too, has charm. The Left’s poem has vocabulary in accordance with the contents; the Right unusual expressions. In this combination, the round must tie.’
Autumn I: 5
Left.
秋來ても猶夕風を松が根に夏を忘れし陰ぞたち憂き
| aki kitemo nao yū kaze wo matsu ga ne ni natsu o wasureshi kage zo tachi uki |
Though the autumn has come, Still, for an evening breeze, Must I abide beneath the pines, As did I to forget the summer, Loath to leave the shade… |
309
Right.
夏衣まだ脱ぎやらぬ夕暮は袖に待たるゝ萩の上風
| natsukoromo mada nugiyaranu yūgure wa sode ni mataruru hagi no uwakaze |
My summer garb Have I not yet put away; In the evening My sleeves await A breeze over the bush-clover. |
310
Neither team can find any fault with the other’s poem.
Shunzei, however, says, ‘With regard to the Right’s poem, one marks the change of clothing at the end of spring into summer, and the passage from autumn and the entrance to winter. Does one say that now it is autumn, one changes from summer clothes? The Left’s ‘beneath the pines’ must win, must it not?’
Autumn I: 4
Left.
岩間より漏り來る清水手にかけてまだ住む程ぞ秋の日數は
| iwama yori morikuru kiyomizu te ni kakete mada sumu hodo zo aki no hikazu wa |
From the cracks between the crags Pours pure water, Caught in my hands; Many yet remain Of the days of Autumn. |
307
Right.
音にのみ哀れを添へていかなれば袖に知られぬ秋の初風
| oto ni nomi aware o soete ikanareba sode ni shirarenu aki no hatsukaze |
From its sound alone Am I moved to feel, And yet My sleeves get no sense Of Autumn’s first breeze. |
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The Right say, ‘Despite the fact that it has become customary to say that coolness arrives with the beginning of Autumn, the Left’s poem, as if this were taken for granted, says the beginning of Autumn is hot! What of this?’
In response, the Left say, ‘First of all, it is taken for granted that the beginning of Autumn is hot! As is plain from “Fiery heat yet remains”. There is nothing problematic in suggesting in this topic that the beginning of autumn is hot!’
Shunzei wonders, ‘what to make of the Left’s “caught in my hands” (te ni kakete), but this is, indeed, a poem on lingering heat. As for the Right’s “From its sound alone am I moved to feel” (oto ni nomi aware o soete) – I wonder whether such a wind would really not be felt on the sleeves as well? The Left should win.’