Marlberry
Left
あさごとにきりはふれどもあしひきのやまたち花はいろもかはらず
| asa goto ni kiri wa furedomo ashihiki no yamatachibana wa iro mo kawarazu | With every morning The mist rolls down, yet on The leg-wearying Mountains, the marlberry’s Hues remain unchanged. |
13
Right
みねだにやすみうくならんあしひきのやまたち花のみやまゐをせる
| mine dani ya sumi’ukunaran ashihiki no yamatachibana no miyamai o seru | Does even the peak Seem so hard to dwell upon? The leg-wearying Mountain marlberry has Turned the hidden spring a darker hue. |
14
Autumn
Left
秋の夜の有明にみれど久堅の月のかつらはうつろはぬかな
| aki no yo no ariake ni miredo hisakata no tsuki no katsura wa utsurouwanu kana | An autumn night’s Dawn I see, yet The eternal Moon’s silver trees Show no sign of fading! |
13
秋萩の花咲く比の白露は下ばのためとわきて置くべし
| aki hagi no hana saku koro no shiratsuyu wa shitaba no tame to wakite okubeshi | In autumn, the bush clover Flowers bloom—just then Silver dewdrops For the under-leaves Do fall, marking every one. |
14
秋風はいなばもそよとふきつめりかりみる程と成りやしぬらん
| akikaze wa inaba mo soyo to fukitsumeri kari miru hodo to nari ya shinuran | The autumn breeze Seems to rustle the rice stalks As it blows; Seeing if ‘tis time to reap them— Is that what it is, I wonder? |
15
Right
銀河とわたる舟は花薄ほにいづるほどぞかげもみゆべき
| ama no kawa towataru fune wa hanasusuki ho ni izuru hodo zo kage mo miyubeki | Across the River of Heaven A boat goes ferrying: When the silver grass Ears burst into bloom, Can its shape be seen. |
16
女郎花さがの花をば色ながら秋をさかりといはれずもがな
| ominaeshi saga no hana oba iro nagara aki o sakari to iwarezu mogana | Maidenflowers: Blossoms from Saga Reveal their hues, and In autumn are most fine—that Goes without saying! |
17
小男鹿の朝たつ霧にうりふ山嶺の梢は色こかりけり
| saoshika no asa tatsu kiri ni urifuyama mine no kozue wa iro kokarikeri | Stags Within the rising morning mist on Urifu Moutain, where The treetops on the peak Have taken darker hues. |
18
Left (Win)
鴨のゐる入江の浪を心にて胸と袖とにさはぐ戀かな
| kamo no iru irie no nami o kokoro nite mune to sode to ni sawagu koi kana |
Ducks flock on The inlet’s waves Within my heart, so My breast and sleeves both Are raucous with love! |
Lord Sada’ie
1055
Right
佐保川の霧のまよひの程だにも妻もとむとて千鳥鳴夜を
| saogawa no kiri no mayoi no hodo dani mo tsuma motomu tote chidori naku yo o |
To the vernal river: The mist brings confusion And in its midst, Seeking a mate, A plover cries at night… |
Jakuren
1056
The Gentlemen of the Right state: we wonder about the appropriateness of ‘my breast and sleeves both are raucous’ (mune to sode to ni sawagu)? The Left, in appeal, state: there is ‘the river-mouths of my sleeves’ (sode no minato) and ‘when I think, upon my breast’ (omoeba mune ni) so linking ‘breast’ and ‘sleeve’ is entirely uncontroversial. The Gentlemen of the Left state: we find no faults to mention in the Right’s poem.
In judgement: I understand the views of the Left’s poem held by both teams. It has also been said that the Right’s poem lacks faults. However, in ‘seeking a mate, a plover cries at night’ (tsuma motomu tote chidori naku yo o) only the two words ‘at night’ (yo o) have any conception of love. The remainder of the poem is simply about plovers, so there is little of love about it. ‘Breast and sleeves both’ (mune to sode to) should win.
Composed on plovers for a poetry competition in Eishō 4 [1050].
佐保川の霧のあなたに鳴く千鳥聲は隔てぬ物にぞ有ける
| saFogaFa no kiri no anata ni naku tidori kowe Fa Fedatenu mono ni zo arikeru |
The River Sao: Mist rises, and from beyond Come plover cries, Their calls uninterrupted By anything. |
The Horikawa Minister of the Right [Fujiwara no Yorimune]
Left (Win).
秋はなを霧の靡に鹿鳴て花も露けき夕なりけり
| aki wa nao kiri no nabiki ni shika nakite hana mo tsuyukeki yū narikeri |
It truly is autumn – Through the fluttering mist Comes the belling of a stag, and The blooms, too, are dew-drenched At even time… |
373
Right.
哀をばいかにせよとて入會の聲うち添ふる鹿の音ならん
| aware o ba ika ni seyo tote iriai no koe uchi souru shika no ne naran |
More sad Than this there’s nothing! The evening bell Tolling, accompanied by The belling of a stag. |
374
The Right wonder, ‘In the expression “the blooms, too”, what does the “too” (mo) connect with? In addition, simply finishing the poem “At even time” (yū narikeri) shows a lack of conception.’ The Left counter that, ‘In the Right’s poem, expressions such as “more sad” (aware o ba) and “the belling of a stag” (shika no ne naran) are feeble. In addition, what of having iriai (“evening [bell]”), without explicitly including “bell” (kane)?’
Shunzei’s judgement: While I do wonder about the expression, ‘at even time’, with the inclusion of ‘too’ in the phrase ‘the blooms, too’, there is the impression of unspoken emotional overtones to the poem. The configuration of the first phrase, too, is particularly tasteful. As for the Right’s poem, it is not the case that iriai must always be accompanied by kane (‘bell’) – one can hear the bell in the phrase. However, overall, the Left’s poem gives a stronger impression, and so wins.