Mandarin Ducks 鴛鴦
夜とともにおもふことなきをし鳥やかげとならびの池にすむらん
| yo to tomo ni omou koto naki oshidori ya kage to narabi no ike ni sumuran | With night’s fall Heedlessly Does the mandarin Together with his reflection Seek to dwell upon the pond? |
Daishin
Tag Archives: night
KKS II: 117
Composed when he had gone to a temple in the mountains.
宿りして春の山辺にねたる夜は夢の内にも花ぞちりける
| yadori site Faru no yamabe ni netaru yo Fa yume no uti ni mo Fana zo tirikeru | Lodging here Upon a mountainside in springtime, Sleeping at night Even my dreams are full Of scattered blossom. |
Tsurayuki
Eikyū hyakushu 42
New Year Archery
あづさ弓はるの日ぐらしもろ人のよに入るまでもあそびつるかな
| azusayumi haru no higurashi morobito no yo ni iru made mo asobitsuru kana | Catalpa bows At sundown in springtime Many folk, ‘Til night covers all, will Disport themselves! |
Daishin
Eikyū hyakushu 5
New Year’s Day
冬の夜を旅の空にてあかしてや都に春の今朝は来るらむ
| fuyu no yo o tabi no sora nite akashite ya miyako ni haru no kesa wa kururamu | A winter’s night Spent under the skies a’travelling; With breaking dawn To the capital has spring Come this morning, I wonder? |
Kanemasa
Love IX: 21
Left
うちとけて誰に衣を重ぬらんまろがまろ寝も夜深き物を
| uchitokete tare ni koromo o kasanuran maro ga marone mo yobukaki mono o |
Loosening them, With whom does he clothes Pile together? Sleeping all alone How deep this night is… |
A Servant Girl
1121
Right (Win)
思わび寝る夜の床の露しげみ身のしろ衣かす人もがな
| omoiwabi neru yo no toko no tsuyu shigemi mi no shirogoromo kasu hito mo gana |
In the grief of love, Sleeping at night, my bed Is soaked through with dew; To lend me an over-mantle Is there no one at all… |
Lord Tsune’ie
1122
The Right state: the final section of the Left’s poem is difficult to grasp. The Left state: the Right’s poem has no faults to mention.
In judgement: the Left’s ‘sleeping all alone how deep this night is…’ (maro ga marone mo yobukaki mono o) does not sound as if it links with the initial section of the poem. ‘Alone’ (maro) is also unacceptable. The Right’s ‘to lend me an over-mantle’ (mi no shirogoromo) sounds elegant. I make it the winner.
Love IX: 4
Left (Tie)
うらやましわがりこちくと笛の音を頼むる中の人は聞くらん
| urayamashi wagari kochiku to fue no ne o tanomuru naka no hito wa kikuran |
O, how I envious I am! To my house comes, a bamboo Flute’s strains – from A trustworthy, loving Man, it sounds… |
Lord Suetsune
1087
Right
より竹の君によりけんことぞ憂き一夜のふしに音のみ泣かれて
| yoritake no kimi ni yoriken koto zo uki hitoyo no fushi ni ne nomi nakarete |
Bamboo flotsam – That you should draw near Is cruel, indeed, for A single night together, brings Only the sound of weeping… |
Lord Tsune’ie
1088
‘Flotsam of bamboo’ (yoritake) and ‘comes, a bamboo’ (kochiku) are equally unsatisfying.
In judgement: ‘Flotsam of bamboo’ and ‘comes, a bamboo’ are of equal quality.
Love IX: 3
Left (Win)
さらぬだに身にしむ夜はの笛の音を憂き人ゆへに聞き明かしつる
| saranu dani mi ni shimu yowa no fue no ne o ukibito yue ni kiki akashitsuru |
Even were I not so in love, On a night that chills the soul The strains of a flute For that cruel one Drift to me ‘til the dawn… |
Lord Kanemune
1085
Right
我ゆへに思はぬ夜はの笛の音も藻に棲む虫と袖は濡れけり
| ware yue ni omowanu yowa no fue no ne mo mo ni sumu mushi to sode wa nurekeri |
For my sake I did not think this night The flute’s strains – A shrimp among the seaweed – Soak the sleeves. |
Jakuren
1086
The Right state: the Left’s poem is overly lacking in thought. The Left state: no faults.
In judgement: the Left has ‘for that cruel one’ (ukibito yue ni) – does this mean perhaps that one is unable to sleep as a result of someone’s cruelty? The reference to ‘a shrimp among the seaweed’ (mo ni sumu mushi) in the Right’s latter section feels overly abrupt and sounds lacking in connection to anything else in the poem. ‘That cruel one’ sounds somewhat insufficient, but it certainly has no faults. Thus, the Left wins.
Love VIII: 26
Left
さりともと待べき程の情かは人頼めなる蛛のふるまゐ
| sari tomo to matsubeki hodo no nasake ka wa hito tanomenaru kumo no furumai |
However faint, I thought, Through all my waiting hours Were his feelings, He can be trusted, Says the spider’s spinning! |
Lord Ari’ie
1071
Right (Win)
はかなくぞさもあらましに待たれぬる頼めぬ宵の蜘蛛のふるまゐ
| hakanaku zo sa mo aramashi ni matarenuru tanomenu yoi no kumo no furumai |
Fleeting, but So be it, then, I thought, Awaiting; How unreliable is this night’s Spider’s spinning… |
Lord Takanobu
1072
Left and Right together: both poems are about spiders, and have no faults to mention.
In judgement: both poems seem elegant in their reference to ‘spider’s spinning’ (kumo no furumai). However, the Left’s central section recalls ‘Men are not trees or stone – they have feelings’ – while this is elegant diction in Chinese composition, it does not seem so in our own poetry. The Right’s ‘so be it then, I thought’ (sa mo aramashi) is fine, but ‘unreliable is this night’ (tanomenu yoi) sounds as if the night is already over. Princess Sotōri, too, has ‘must surely come tonight’ (kubeki yoi nari), but then appears to have ‘a certain sign’ (kanete shirushi mo). Still, this is surely describing a situation where one once had doubts, but feel that tonight is reliable. The Right is slightly superior.
Love VIII: 25
Left
起きもゐで年ふる戀はをのづから常世の神やしるし見すべき
| oki mo ide toshi furu koi wa onozukara tokoyo no kami ya shirushi misubeki |
Unable to arise From love these many years, May I By the eternal gods Be shown a sign! |
Kenshō
1069
Right (Win)
獨臥すながながし夜のかなしきを語らひあかすきりぎりす哉
| hitori fusu naganagashi yo no kanashiki o katarai akasu kirigirisu kana |
Lying alone, So long, long the night’s Sorrow; Lightening it with chatter Are the crickets! |
The Supernumerary Master of the Empress’ Household Office
1070
The Gentlemen of the Right state: what is the meaning of ‘the eternal gods’ (toko no kami). In appeal, the Left: in the Chronicles of Japan, insects are worshipped under the name of ‘the eternal gods’ and made to seem like men. The Left state: what can an insect chatter about?
In judgement: in regard to the Left’s poem, while it is true that insects were worshipped, a poem on ‘Love and Insects’ with no insect is lacking something from the start. This poem would seem to be more a case of ‘Love and Prayers’. Thus, this is nothing enduring. A prior example has been contrived, but this is ineffective. It does not seem as if this insect’s nature has any relation to the topic. The Right’s poem has a commonplace cricket. Where is the fault in having it lighten one’s mood with chatter? Thus, the Right must win.
Love VIII: 18
Left (Win)
鴨のゐる入江の浪を心にて胸と袖とにさはぐ戀かな
| kamo no iru irie no nami o kokoro nite mune to sode to ni sawagu koi kana |
Ducks flock on The inlet’s waves Within my heart, so My breast and sleeves both Are raucous with love! |
Lord Sada’ie
1055
Right
佐保川の霧のまよひの程だにも妻もとむとて千鳥鳴夜を
| saogawa no kiri no mayoi no hodo dani mo tsuma motomu tote chidori naku yo o |
To the vernal river: The mist brings confusion And in its midst, Seeking a mate, A plover cries at night… |
Jakuren
1056
The Gentlemen of the Right state: we wonder about the appropriateness of ‘my breast and sleeves both are raucous’ (mune to sode to ni sawagu)? The Left, in appeal, state: there is ‘the river-mouths of my sleeves’ (sode no minato) and ‘when I think, upon my breast’ (omoeba mune ni) so linking ‘breast’ and ‘sleeve’ is entirely uncontroversial. The Gentlemen of the Left state: we find no faults to mention in the Right’s poem.
In judgement: I understand the views of the Left’s poem held by both teams. It has also been said that the Right’s poem lacks faults. However, in ‘seeking a mate, a plover cries at night’ (tsuma motomu tote chidori naku yo o) only the two words ‘at night’ (yo o) have any conception of love. The remainder of the poem is simply about plovers, so there is little of love about it. ‘Breast and sleeves both’ (mune to sode to) should win.