Left.
雲かゝり重なる山を越えもせず隔てまさるは明くる日の影
| kumo kakari kasanaru yama o koe mo sezu hedate masaru wa akuru hi no kage |
Trailed with cloud, The layered mountains I have not gone beyond, but What stands between us most is The light of the brightening sun. |
Lord Sada’ie.
801
Right (Win).
いさ命思ひは夜半に盡き果てぬ夕も待たじ秋の曙
| isa inochi omoi wa yowa ni tsukihatenu yūbe mo mataji aki no akebono |
I know not what’s to become of my life! All my thoughts of love in the hours of night Are quite exhausted, and I cannot wait for evening On this autumn dawn… |
Nobusada.
802
The Right state: from ‘Trailed with cloud’ (kumo kakari) to ‘The light of the brightening sun’ (akuru hi no kage), all is entirely unacceptable, is it not? The Left state: we wonder about the acceptability of ‘I know not what’s to become of my life’ (isa inochi).
In judgement: the Right have said that the Left’s poem is unacceptable from beginning to end, but can one really go so far as to say that? Furthermore, the Left query whether ‘I know not what’s to become of my life’, but I wonder whether I can recall this phrase being that bad. However, one is accustomed to saying that ‘this spring dawn’ (haru no akebono) is elegant, and although ‘this autumn dawn’ (aki no akebono) is a modern expression, the faults of the Left’s poem are particularly problematic, so the Right should win.
Left.
空晴れて山の端出づる日影にも乾きもやらぬ袖の上かな
| sora harete yama no ha izuru hikage ni mo kawaki mo yaranu sode no ue kana |
The sky clears and From the mountains’ edge appears The sunlight, yet It cannot even dry The surface of my sleeves… |
Lord Ari’ie.
797
Right (Win).
澤に出て朝菜摘むとも覺えぬあやしきほどに濡るゝ袖哉
| sawa ni idete asana tsumu tomo oboenu ayashiki hodo ni nururu sode kana |
Going out to the marshes and Gathering greens for breakfast – I cannot recall at all; How strange it is that My sleeves are then so drenched… |
Lord Tsune’ie.
798
The Right state: we find no faults to mention in the Left’s poem. The Left state: recalling gathering greens for breakfast is something one can do in the afternoon or the evening. In addition, ‘I cannot recall’ (oboenu) is prosaic in content.
In judgement: the Left’s poem simply says that the sunlight is unable to dry one’s sleeves, and contains little conception of love. The Right’s ‘sleeves’ sound as if they have been most extraordinarily drenched, so the Right should win.
Left (Tie).
かたらひし我戀妻やほとゝぎすたまさか山に聲のほのめく
| kataraishi ware koizuma ya hototogisu tamasaka yama ni koe no honomeku |
I spoke once With the girl I love; A cuckoo At Mount Tamasaka Calling briefly |
733
Right.
絶果てぬ情の山に雲消えて晴るゝ心や星合の空
| taehatenu nasake no yama ni kumo kiete haruru kokoro ya hoshiai no sora |
Unending Our gentle connection; the mountain Freed from cloud, Warming our hearts Like, perhaps the skies where stars meet. |
734
The Right state: we do not like the Left’s poem, but find no specific faults worth mentioning. The Left state: we are not accustomed to the expression ‘gentle connection; the mountain’ (nasake no yama)
In judgement: Mount Tamasaka’s cuckoo and the Weaver Maid’s gentle mountain connection are of the same quality.
Left.
山里の寂しさ思ふ煙ゆへ絶え絶え立てる峯の椎柴
| yamazato no sabishisa omou keburi yue taedae tateru mine no shiishiba |
That mountain dwelling’s Loneliness feeling, The smoke, Rising in sporadic strands: The brushwood on the peak… |
565
Right (Win).
冬籠る草の戸ざしは霜枯れてま近き山の峯の椎柴
| fuyugomoru kusa no tozashi wa shimogarete majikaki yama no mine no shiishiba |
Sealed in winter The blockading grasses are Seared by frost, and How much closer is the mountain Peak’s brushwood. |
566
Both teams say that the conceptions of the two poems resemble each other closely [kokoro hōfutsu].
Shuzei’s judgement: The Left, by starting, ‘That mountain dwelling’s loneliness feeling, the smoke’ (yamazato no sabishisa omou keburi yue) sounds as if it is the brushwood itself which has some sensitivity to the situation, and are rising up from time to time. I wonder about that. The Right’s evergreen groves ‘nearing the mountain’ (majikaki yama) is what should win.
Left.
雪埋む松を緑に吹返し見せも聞かせも山おろしの風
| yuki uzumu matsu o midori ni fukikaeshi mise mo kikase mo yama oroshi no kaze |
Buried in the snows, The pines to green Are blown back, Sight and sound both from The wind down the mountains. |
561
Right.
さえさえて梢の雲を返す也尾上の松の雪の浦風
| saesaete kozue no kumo o kaesu nari onoue no matsu no yuki no urakaze |
Frozen with chill, The treetop-touching clouds Fly away; The pines of Onoue, Blown free from the snows by the wind from off the bay… |
562
Neither team finds any fault with the other’s poem.
Shunzei’s judgement: This round the poems of Left and Right both describe memorable scenes. The Left’s ‘pines to green are blown back’ (matsu o midori ni fukikaeshi) and the Right’s ‘pines of Onoue, blown free from the snows by the wind from off the bay’ (onoue no matsu no yuki no urakaze) are equivalently excellent in conception and diction [kokoro kotoba shōretsu naku miehaberi]. This must be a tie of quality [yoki ji].
Left.
山里は朝川渡る駒の音に瀬々の氷の程を知るかな
| yamazato wa asakawa wataru koma no oto ni seze no kōri no hodo o shiru kana |
Dwelling in the mountains, Crossing the river in the morning, The horses’ footfalls Upon the ice within the shallows Tells to me its depth… |
541
Right (Win).
谷河の氷るだにある山里に人も音せぬ今朝の白雪
| tanikawa no kōru dani aru yamazato ni hito mo oto senu kesa no shirayuki |
The streamlet, Even, has frozen At my mountain home; No folks’ footfalls On this snow-white morning… |
542
The Right have no criticisms to make of the Left’s poem. The Left just remark that the Right’s use of ‘even’ (dani aru) is ‘poor’ [yokarazu].
Shunzei’s judgement: Despite the Left starting their poem with ‘dwelling in the mountains’ (yamazato wa), even if it is on a winter morning, where must it take place? It must be at a riverside estate, or village. In addition, the only element of the conception of morning, is ‘crossing the river in the morning’ (asa kawa wataru). I do wonder about the sound of ‘even, has frozen’ (kōri dani aru), but the snow in the morning is more moving and charming [aware mo okashiku mo] than the Left’s mere sound of horses’ hooves on ice, so the Right’s is the better poem.
Left.
この山の峰のむら雲吹まよひ槇の葉傳ひ霙降り來ぬ
| kono yama no mine no murakumo fukimayoi maki no ha tsutai mizore furikonu |
About this mountain Peak, crowding clouds Go scudding by; The yew leaves tell the tale Of fallen sleet. |
523
Right (Win).
雪ならばかゝらましやはうち拂ふ袖もしほたるゝ霙降るなり
| yuki naraba kakaramashi ya wa uchiharau sode mo shiotaruru mizore furunari |
Were it snow Would it be like this? Sweeping on My sleeves are drenched With the sleet that’s fallen! |
The Provisional Master of the Empress’ Household Office.
524
Neither Left nor Right find any fault.
Shunzei’s judgement: ‘Peak, crowding clouds go scudding by’ (mine no murakumo fukimayoi) sounds fine [yoroshiku kikoyuru], but preceding it with ‘About this mountain’ (kono yama no) is something I find myself particularly unable to accept, as I wonder to which mountain the poem refers. ‘Would it be like this? Sweeping on’ (kakaramashi ya wa uchiharau) connects well with what comes before and after it and sounds tasteful, more or less [nani to naku yū ni kikoehaberu]. The Right must win.
Left (Win).
風寒み今日も霙の降る里は吉野の山の雪げなりけり
| kaze samumi kyō mo mizore no furu sato wa yoshino no yama no yukige narikeri |
A chill breeze brings Sleet, today, Falling as on the ancient estate on Yoshino mountain Did snows fall once… |
517
Right.
嵐吹く木葉こきまぜ霙降りさびしかりける山の奧かな
| arashi fuku konoha kokimaze mizore furi sabishikarikeru yama no oku kana |
The storm wind blows Leaves mixed in with Falling sleet; How lonely it is Here within the mountains… |
518
Neither team finds any fault with the other’s poem this round.
Shunzei’s judgement: The Left’s ‘Sleet, today, falling as on the ancient estate’ (kyō mo mizore no furu sato wa), preceding ‘on Yoshino mountain did snows fall once’, reflects the conception of ‘Where once I lived, to the mount of Yoshino was so close’ (Furusato Fa yosino no yama si tikakereba) and seems splendid [ito yoroshiku miehabere]. The Right’s ‘How lonely it is here within the mountains’ (sabishikarikeru yama no oku kana) as a final section is most acceptable in terms of style [mottomo shokisubeki no tei], but the initial ‘leaves mixed in’ (konoha kokimaze) sounds as if this had been done with some human hand. Thus, the Left with matched initial and final sections, must win.