Topic unknown.
しぐれの雨まなくしふればまきの葉もあらそひかねて色づきにけり
| shigure no ame ma nakushi fureba maki no ha mo arasoikanete irozukinikeri | Showers of rain Fall without respite, so Even evergreens’ leaves Can fight no longer, and Take on a hint of colour. |
Hitomaro[i]
[i] This poem appears in Man’yōshū (X: 2196) where it is not attributed to a named poet, so the attribution to Hitomaro here is probably spurious.
On passing through Tokiwa Grove at the beginning of the Tenth Month.
しぐれの雨そめかねてけり山しろのときはのもりの槙の下ばは
| shigure no ame somekanetekeri yamashiro no tokiwa no mori no maki no shitaba wa | Showers of rain Cannot dye In Yamashiro Sempiternal Tokiwa Grove’s Evergreen underleaves…[i] |
Dharma Master Nōin
[i] An allusive variation on: 四具礼能雨 無間之零者 真木葉毛 争不勝而 色付尓家里 shigure no ame / ma nakushi fureba / maki no pa mo / arasoikanete / irozukinikeri ‘Showers of rain / Fall without respite, so / Even evergreens’ leaves / Can fight no longer, and / Take on a hint of colour.’ Anonymous (Man’yōshū X: 2196)
Cuckoos
Round One
Left
ほととぎすまきのとばかりまちつれどなかであけぬる夏のしののめ
| hototogisu maki no to bakari machitsuredo nakade akenuru natsu no shinonome | O, cuckoo, Briefly by my door of cedar wood Did I await you, yet No song, at all, brightened This summer edge of dawn. |
Lord Dainagon
15
Right (Win)
ほととぎすなくうれしさをつつめどもそらにはこゑもとまらざりけり
| hototogisu naku ureshisa o tsutsumedomo sora ni wa koe mo tomarazarikeri | At the cuckoo’s Song, my joy To hold fast did I try, yet In the skies, his cry Lingered not. |
Lord Chūnagon
16
The Left’s poem, after careful consideration, has a graceful style. The diction of the Right’s poem is superb, and there is an excess of conception. Reading and reciting these leaves my aged heart at a loss. Thus, they tie.
In the Left’s poem, ‘briefly’ is an expression which means ‘just for a short time’, I think, and thus the sentiments are lacking. Saying ‘brightened…edge of dawn’ sounds as if the poet has only begun waiting at daybreak. One does see, apparently, a number of poems in prior matches where the poet has not heard the cuckoo. Nevertheless, I do wonder about whether this is appropriate, given that poems where the cuckoo has been heard are faultless. The Right’s poem is not that good, but it is poetic. Thus, it has to win.
Round Seven
Left (Both Judges – Win)
音にさへ袂をぬらす時雨かな槙の板屋のよはの寝覚に
| oto ni sae tamoto o nurasu shigure kana maki no itaya ni yowa no nezame ni | Even the sound Does soak my sleeves with A shower Striking my roof of cedar boards, Awaking at midnight… |
Lord Sadanobu
13
Right
しぐれとて柞の杜にたちよれば木のはとともに降りかかるかな
| shigure tote hahaso no mori ni tachiyoreba ko no ha to tomo ni furikakaru kana | When with a shower’s fall Within the oak forest I head to stand Together with the leaves, It strikes me as it falls! |
Lord Munekuni
14
Toshiyori states: the first poem’s composition on one’s sleeves getting soaked on hearing a sound is extremely charming. It sounds like that’s really how it is. The latter poem, too, is smooth, and the final line appears to have had some thought put into it, so I dread having to say that the first poem wins.
Mototoshi states: ‘a shower at midnight upon a roof of cedar boards’ is a particularly superlative image, and that this would drench one’s sleeves is also extremely charming. While ‘the oak forest’ does not appear bad, it’s not that remarkable, and ‘waking at midnight’ is something that certainly occurs, I feel.
Round Six
Left (M – Tie)
さもこそは槙のまやぶき薄からめもるばかりにもうつ時雨かな
| samo koso wa maki no mayabuki usukarame moru bakari ni mo utsu shigure kana | Truly, A roof of cedar boughs Seems scanty, for It simply leaks when Struck by a shower! |
Lord Morotoshi
11
Right (T – Win)
木の葉のみ染むるかとこそおもひしに時雨は人のみにしみにけり
| ko no ha nomi somuru ka to koso omoishi ni shigure wa hito no mi ni shiminikeri | ‘Is it the leaves upon the trees alone It dyes?’ I wondered once, but A shower on folk’s Flesh does leave a mark… |
Lord Masamitsu
12
Toshiyori states: the first poem deliberately starts with ‘A roof of cedar boughs’ and then concludes with ‘Struck by a shower’ which is vague. It does sound like the poet might have had ‘the lonely sighing sound of rain beating against my window’ in mind when composing. In any case, this is something which would have been better avoided. If he wished to compose on this sort of thing, and had done so without this element, then the poem would not be unpleasant. As for the Right, well, this does sound somewhat scanty! Still, what kind of colour might the poet’s flesh be marked? If it was the colour of the leaves, then this would be pretentious, wouldn’t it. If he wanted to refer to the hue of the wind in the pines, then why didn’t he say so? As a composition about a shower, though, this sounds slightly better.
Mototoshi states: having such a thin roof of cedar boughs struck by a passing shower feels frightening for the people under it. At the beginning of the world, rain as thick as axles fell, I hear—what a terrifying shower that must have been! The expression ‘rain beating against my window’ occurs in a poem from Cathay, referring, it seems, to rain blown by the wind horizontally striking one’s fence. Thus, it does sound extremely moving to compose about rains striking one’s window and keeping one awake, but, then again, while it’s certainly true that showers dye the treetops on the mountains in all directions, what sort of mark would they leave on a person’s flesh? It sounds like the old tale of the well-warden’s sign, doesn’t it! This round, both poems are about the same.
Round Ten
Left (Tie)
くさまくらしぐれもそでをぬらしけりみやこをこふるなみだならねど
| kusamakura shigure mo sode o nurashikeri miyako o kouru namida naranedo | On a pillow of grass The showers, too, my sleeves Have soaked; Longing for the capital These tears are not, yet… |
Hiromori
69
Right
かりいほさすならのからはのむらしぐれあはれはまきのおとばかりかは
| kari’io sasu nara no karawa no murashigure aware wa maki no oto bakari ka wa | Erecting a crude hut, The withered leaves of oak are Struck by cloudbursts; Does sadness in the evergreens’ Sound solely lie? |
Dharma Master Chikyō
70
Both Left and Right appear to have elegant configuration and diction, but the Left seems to presents the soaking of sleeves by showers as something novel, while the Right gives a feeling that it is only the sound of evergreens that makes one sad. Thus, these tie.
A poem composed in reply to His Majesty by Tachibana sukune Naramaro.
奥山之 真木葉淩 零雪乃 零者雖益 地尓落目八方
| okuyama no maki no pa sinogi puru yuki no puri pa masu tomo tuti ni otime ya mo | Deep within the mountains Evergreen leaves are weighed down With falling snow, but Even should it keep on falling Will it ever tumble to the ground? |
