kuraiyama kodakaku naran matsu ni nomi yaoyorozuyo to harukaze zo fuku
On Mount Kurai[i] Tall will become the pines trees ‘Simply wait Eight million ages,’ whispers The gusting breeze of spring!
662
[i] Mount Kurai (kuraiyama 位山), lies in what is now northern Gifu prefecture, and is one of the peaks in the Hida Mountains (hida sanmyaku 飛騨山脈), also known as the Northern Alps, stretching through north central Honshu. Its use here, however, is purely because kurai 位, was homophonous with the word for ‘court rank’. As matsu 松 (‘pine tree’) was also homophonous with matsu 待つ (‘wait’), the poem is a dual play on words
kuraiyama mine no sakura o kazashitemo hito wa mono o ya nao omouramu
Even should I Mount Kurai’s Cherry blossom from the peak Wear in my hair, As a man would such gloomy Thoughts still fill me?
Lord Sane’ie 109
Right
ありてこそあらぬすがたになりもせめうしとていかがみをばなぐべき
arite koso aranu sugata ni nari mo seme ushi tote ikaga mi oba nagubeki
I live on, so My former state I have abandoned; How can I all the cruelties Cast from my flesh?
Atsuyori 110
The Left’s configuration and conception are truly charming. The writer is troubled, isn’t he! In particular, the configuration of ‘As a man would such gloomy / Thoughts still fill me?’ sounds especially pleasant. For the Right, the tone of ‘How can I all the cruelties’ also seems pleasant, but still, I make the Left the winner.
