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みゆきふるかれ木のすゑのさむけきにつばさをたれてからすなくなり
| miyuki furu karegi no sue no samukeki ni tsubasa o tarete karasu nakunari | Deep the snow falling Upon the withered trees So chilly that with Drooping wings The crows are cawing. |
Emperor Ichijō
Tag Archives: miyuki
Eikyū hyakushu 357
Eikyū hyakushu 356
MYS IX: 1695
SIS VIII: 455
During the same reign, when there was an imperial excursion and His Majesty commanded the composition of poems.
大井河川辺の松に事問はむかかる御幸やありし昔も
| oFowigawa kaFabe no matu ni koto toFamu kakaru miyuki ya arisi mukasi mo |
At Ōigawa: O, pine trees on the bank I would ask you something: Was there ever such an imperial visit In the days of long ago? |
Ki no Tsurayuki
SIS XVII: 1128
When Former Emperor Uda held an imperial excursion to Ōikawa, he stated that the place was truly suited to such an activity, and this was composed to inform His Majesty of the fact.
小倉山峯の紅葉は心あらば今一度の御幸待たなん
| ogurayama mine no momidi Fa kokoro araba ima Fitotabi no miyuki matanan |
On Ogurayama, Had he maples on the peak Any heart at all, Now, for one more Imperial visit would they await… |
The Koichijō Grand Minister [Fujiwara no Tadahira]
Winter I: 30
Left (Win).
芹河の浪も昔に立かへり御幸絶えせぬ嵯峨の山嵐
| serikawa no nami mo mukashi ni tachikaeri miyuki taesenu saga no yama’arashi |
Seri River’s Waves, too, in ancient times, Would rise and fall; A Progress as endless as The storm winds on Mount Saga. |
539
Right.
御幸せし野邊の古道踏み分て跡絶えせぬは芹川の水
| miyuki seshi nobe no furumichi fumiwakete ato taesenu wa serikawa no mizu |
A progress passed Across the plain’s old trails, Well trod, The traces will endure As do the waters of Seri River… |
540
Neither team finds any fault this round.
Shunzei’s judgement: Both poems have the conception [kokoro] of ‘Seri River’ (serikawa) and ‘endless Progress’ (miyuki taesenu), and there is not much between them in terms of winning or losing, but the Left’s ‘storm winds on Mount Saga’ (saga no yama’arashi) seems to blow a bit more strongly today!
Winter I: 29
Left (Tie).
いにしへの流れを受くる御狩かなその芹河の跡にまかせて
| inishie no nagare o ukuru mikari kana sono serikawa no ato ni makasete |
In days long gone, Flowed by here His Majesty’s hunting party; At the River Seri, Traces, tell the tale… |
537
Right.
いにしへの野守の鏡今日見れば御幸を映す氷なりけり
| inishie no nomori no kagami kyō mireba miyuki o utsusu kōri narikeri |
That long ago Falconer’s mirror: When I look on it today, Reflecting the progress is A sheet of ice. |
538
The Right find no fault with the Left’s poem. The Left wonder whether ice is able to reflect anything, and what the purpose of using the term is.
Shunzei’s judgement: Both poems are elegant [yū], starting with ‘In days long gone, flowed by here’ (inishie no nagare o ukuru) and ‘That long ago falconer’s mirror: when I look on it today’ (inishie no nomori no kagami kyō mireba) respectively, but the use of ‘the’ (sono) in the Left’s ‘the River Seri’ (sono serikawa) is poor [ika ni zo kikoyu]. The Right’s ‘ice’ (kōri) really does seem somewhat unsuitable. Thus, it is impossible to pick either as the winner.
Winter I: 28
Left.
狩衣をどろの道も立歸り打散る雪の野風寒けし
| karigoromo odoro no michi mo tachikaeri uchichiru yuki no nokaze samukeshi |
Clad in hunting garb, and Down a path of thorns Returning, The scattered snowflakes make The wind off the plain feel all the more chill… |
535
Right.
諸人の狩場の小野に降る霰今日の御幸に玉ぞ散ける
| morobito no kariba no ono ni furu arare kyō no miyuki ni tama zo chirikeru |
Many folk Have Ono as their hunting ground, but The hail falling Today, upon this Imperial Progress Has scattered jewels. |
536
Neither Left nor Right have any criticisms.
Shunzei’s judgement: ‘A path of thorns’ (odoro no michi mo) recollects the gentlemen of the court when garbed for hawking, and certainly sounds accurate, but the final line does not say anything out of the ordinary. On scattered jewels of ‘hail falling on the hunting ground of Ono’ (kariba no ono ni furu arare), you have ‘many folk’ (morobito no) and then ‘today’s Imperial Progress’ (kyō no miyuki ni) which sounds as if both are indistinguishable. It is impossible to assign a winner or loser this round.
Winter I: 27
Left.
雉子鳴く嵯峨野の原の御幸には古き跡をや先尋ぬらん
| kigisu naku sagano no hara no miyuki ni wa furuki ato o ya saki tazunuran |
The pheasants cry In the fields of Sagano; On this Imperial Progress, The traces of times long gone Should we visit first? |
533
Right (Win).
すべらぎの今日の御幸は御狩野の草葉も靡く物にぞ有ける
| suberagi no kyō no miyuki wa mikarino no kusaha mo nabiku mono ni zo arikeru |
On His Majesty’s Progress on this day To His hunting grounds The very blades of grass do bow Before Him |
The Provisional Master of the Empress’ Household Office.
534
The Right state that pheasants do not cry out during the winter, to which the Left reply that this is seen occasionally in recent poetry. The Left then comment that mi occurs too often in the Right’s poem.
Shunzei’s judgement: The Left’s ‘traces of times long gone’ (furuki ato o ya) is most fine [yoroshiku haberubeshi]. On pheasants crying in winter, it goes without saying that they do not, and in this poem in particular, I wonder about the appropriateness of ‘pheasants crying’ (because it was convention to avoid anything with potentially negative associations in a poem on the topic of Imperial Visits). The Right’s poem commences with ‘His Majesty’ (suberagi no) and continues with ‘the very blades of grass do bow’ (kusaha mo nabiku) which has felicitous associations. Thus, the Right must win.