In the summer, he sent this to his daughter, the Fifth Imperial Princess, attached to some lingering yellowed oak leaves.
時ならでははその紅葉ちりにけりいかにこのもとさびしかるらん
| toki narade FaFaso no momidi tirinikeri ika ni ko no moto sabisikaruran | ‘Tis not the season, but The oaks’ leaves have yellowed and Scattered; Beneath the trunks How lonely it must be… |
His Majesty, the Tenryaku Emperor
Round Five
Left (Win)
さくらやまはなのさかりに風ふけばこずゑをこして白波ぞたつ
| sakurayama hana no sakari ni kaze fukeba kozue o koshite shiranami zo tatsu | On the mount of Cherries So fine is the blossom that When the wind does blow, Passing o’er the treetops, Whitecaps arise! |
Controller’s Graduate
9
Right
この春ははなにこころのあくがれてこのもとにてもくらしつるかな
| kono haru wa hana ni kokoro no akugarete ko no moto nite mo kurashitsuru kana | This springtime By the blossoms my heart Is captivated, and Beneath the trees Does dwell! |
Kerin’in Graduate
10
Both Left and Right, in terms of diction, tone and style are superb with no faults at all. Thus, this is a tie.
The final section of the Left’s poem lacks fluency, yet it has conception. As for the Right’s poem, in order for one’s heart to be captivated by the blossom on every single treetop, one would need to be walking around. If one is resting peacefully beneath the trees, then one should say that one’s heart is captured. This section sounds erroneous, so the Left should win.
Warblers
Round One
Left (Tie)
鶯のなく木の本にふる雪はは風に花のちるかとぞみる
| uguisu no naku ki no moto ni furu yuki wa hakaze ni hana no chiru ka to zo miru | The warbler Sings from in a tree, its roots Covered by falling snow; Breeze stirred by its wingbeats, blossom Does seem to scatter. |
Lord Kiyosuke
1
Right
うぐひすのなきて木づたふ梅がえにこぼるる露や涙なるらん
| uguisu no nakite kozutau ume ga e ni koboruru tsuyu ya namida naruran | The warbler Crying flits from Branch to plum branch; Has the dripping dew His tears, perhaps, become? |
Shun’e
2
Both Left and Right proceed smoothly, but what are we to make of the line ‘Crying flits’ in the Right’s poem? As this is also an expression which implies that dew is falling, these should tie.
Haze
おしなべて春は来にけりつくばねのこのもとごとに霞たなびく
| oshinabete haru wa kinikeri tsukubane no ko no moto goto ni kasumi tanabiku | To everywhere and anywhere Spring has come! On Tsukuba peak Around the base of every tree, Drifts haze. |
On a folding screen for the coming-of-age ceremony of the Empress.
春ふかくなりぬと思ふをさくら花ちるこのもとはまだ雪ぞふる
| Faru Fukaku narinu to omoFu wo sakurabana tiru ko no moto Fa mada yuki zo Furu | Deep, indeed, has spring Become, I feel, when Cherry blossom Scatters around the feet of the trees, so Snow is still a’falling! |
Tsurayuki
Blossom falls wordlessly from the trees, while the waters flow into the souless pond.
はなも水も心なぎさやいかならむ庭に浪たつはるの木のもと
| hana mo mizu mo kokoro nagisa ya ikanaramu niwa ni nami tatsu haru no ko no moto | Both the blossoms and the waters, too, Touch the shores of my heart— Why should that be? At my estate the breaking waves Of spring wash the bases of the trees. |
Jien
