しのびつつなきわたりつるほととぎすあすもいつかとまたれこそすれ
| shinobitsutsu nakiwataritsuru hototogisu asu mo itsuka to matare koso sure | Ever secretly Has sung out The cuckoo— The morn, too, sometime He awaits! |
Fujiwara no Shigesuke, Chamberlain and Junior Lieutenant in the Outer Palace Guards, Right Division[i]
5
I say this seems only to be waiting for the morning and lacks a conception of tonight, so it loses.
[i] Fujiwara no Shigesuke 藤原重輔 () 蔵人右衛門少尉藤原重輔
うちしのびことかたらはむほととぎすあすはあやめのねにはたつとも
| uchishinobi koto katarawamu hototogisu asu wa ayame no ne ni wa tatsu tomo | So secretly Will whisper The cuckoo, that he With the morn, strangely, among the sweet flag Roots may raise a cry… |
Lord Nobumitsu, Head Chamberlain and Supernumerary Middle Captain of the Inner Palace Guards, Right Division[i]
3
[i] Minamoto no Nobumitsu 源延光 (927-976)
Round Twelve
Left
霜枯に移ひ残る村菊はみる朝ごとにめづらしきかな
| shimogare ni utsuroinokoru muragiku wa miru asa goto ni mezurashiki kana | Burned by frost, Faded and lingering A cluster of chrysanthemums When I see them every morn Strikes me afresh! |
Lord Toshitaka
47
Right (Both Judges – Win)
置くしものなからましかば菊のはな移ふ色をけふみましやは
| oku shimo no nakaramashikaba kiku no hana utsurou iro o kyō mimashi ya wa | Fallen frost Were there none, then Chrysanthemum blooms Faded hues I would not see today… |
Lord Tamezane
48
Toshiyori states: the first poem has nothing remarkable about it, apart from the undesirable use of ‘clustered chrysanthemums’. The second poem’s sense could be that when the frost has fallen, the chrysanthemum won’t display faded hues, but it is a mistake to link frost fall and being able to see them. However, if we interpret is as meaning it has fallen, so we can then view them for a long time, well, I can understand that, and will make it the winner.
Mototoshi states: this poem has no faults, but it does not appear to be a poem suited to a poetry match—it’s just rather dull. The poem of the Right, too, lacks anything worth pointing out and just says that the poet wants to gaze upon faded hues today—this seems a bit cliched, but I’d say it’s superior.
玉くしげはこねのやまの郭公むかふのさとに朝な朝ななく
| tamakushige hakone no yama no hototogisu mukau no sato ni asana asana naku | A jewelled comb On Hakone Mountain A cuckoo In that paradise Cries with every morn.[i] |
[ii] This poem is inspired by: 心乎之 無何有乃郷尓 置而有者 藐孤射能山乎 見末久知香谿務 kokoro oshi / mukau no sato ni / okite araba / bakoya no yama o / mimaku chikakemu ‘My heart / In paradise / Should I leave behind, then / Mount Miaogushe / Would I soon come to see.’ Anonymous (MYS XVI: 3851). The Man’yō poem refers to Mount Bakoya (C. Miaogushe), a legendary Chinese mountain where immortals were said to dwell, and Sanetomo’s reference to Hakone echoes this due to the partial homophony between the place names.
Round Fourteen
Left (Win)
七夕のわかるる今朝のたもとにや秋の白露おきはじむらん
| tanabata no wakaruru kesa no tamoto ni ya aki no shiratsuyu okihajimuran | The Weaver Maid Parts from him this morn, Upon her sleeves Autumn’s silver dewdrops Must have begun to fall… |
Shun’e
27
Right
秋へてもはてなき中をみるをりは七夕つめぞうらやまれける
| aki hete mo hatenaki naka o miru ori wa tanabatatsume zo urayamarekeru | Though the autumns pass, When on their endless bond She ponders, Even the Weaver Maid Must despise her lot! |
Kenshō
28
