Left (Tie)
むらさきにあふみづなれやかきつばたそこのいろさへかはらざるらむ
| murasaki ni au mizu nare ya kakitsubata soko no iro sae kawararuramu | Violet Suits the water here! Irises The hues beneath Seem to have changed. |
Mitsune
45
Right
ほととぎすこゑのみするはふくかぜのおとはのやまになけばなりけり
| hototogisu koe nomi suru wa fuku kaze no otowa no yama ni nakeba narikeri | A cuckoo’s Call alone upon The gusting wind; Wingbeats sound on Otowa Mountain Where he does sing. |
46
音羽山秋としなれば唐錦かけたることも見ゆる紅葉か
| otowayama aki to shi nareba karanishiki kaketaru koto mo miyuru momiji ka | On Otowa Mountain When autumn comes Cathay brocade Is hung about – Seem so the scarlet leaves? |
5
女郎花何の心になけれども秋はさくべきこともゆゆしく
| ominaeshi nani no kokoro ni nakeredomo aki wa sakubeki koto mo yuyushiku | O, maidenflowers, Something within my heart Is lacking, yet That you must bloom in autumn Is a fine thing, indeed! |
6
Left (Win)
おぼつかな音羽の山の時鳥さすがにいはぬ言な頼めそ
| obotukana otoFa no yama no Fototogisu sasuga ni iFanu koto na tanome so |
I wonder about Wingbeats on Otowa Mountain, The cuckoo: Truly in unsaid Words place no trust! |
3
Right
誰とかは言はかたらふ時鳥まづ我が聞くにいはで渡るは
| tare to ka Fa koto Fa kataraFu Fototogisu madu wa ga kiku ni iFade wataru Fa |
To whom is it that Tales you tell, O, Cuckoo? When first I listen, Wordless, do you fly back and forth… |
4
Written on the rocks by the waterfall at Provisional Middle Councillor Atsutada’s mountain retreat at Nishi-sakamoto.
音羽川せき入れて落す瀧つせに人の心のみえもするかな
| otoFagaFa seki’irete otosu taki tu se ni Fito no kokoro no mie mo suru kana |
On Otowa River A barrier is placed to drop A cataract in torrents And, your heart, perhaps, Reveal! |
Ise
伊勢
Left (Win).
名に立てる音羽の瀧も音にのみ聞くより袖の濡るゝ物かは
| na ni tateru otowa no taki mo oto ni nomi kiku yori sode no nururu mono ka wa |
The name is known: Otowa Falls Sounds forth; and just Hearing that Is enough to soak my sleeves? Surely not! |
631
Right.
鹿の音も嵐にたぐふ鐘の音も聞くよりこそは袖は濡れしか
| shika no ne mo arashi no taguu kane no oto mo kiku yori koso wa sode wa nureshika |
The braying of the stags, and With the storm wind The tolling bells: Hearing alone Does soak my sleeves. |
632
The Gentlemen of the Right state: there is nothing worth mentioning in the Left’s poem. The Gentlemen of the Left state: using ne (‘braying’) and oto (‘sound’) in the same poem is a fault [yamai].
Shunzei’s judgement: Both poems are tasteful in form [utazama wa yū] , but the Right’s does contain a fault, as the Left have stated. Thus, the Left should win.
Left.
いかばかり散積もればか大井河流れもやらぬ紅葉なるらむ
| ika bakari chiritsumoreba ka ōikawa nagare mo yaranu momiji naruramu |
How many Have fallen altogether upon Ōi River? That its flow is stopped With scarlet leaves… |
483
Right.
紅に關の小川は成にけり音羽の山に紅葉散るらし
| kurenai ni seki no ogawa wa narinikeri otowa no yama ni momiji chirurashi |
Scarlet Has the stream by the barrier Become. On Otowa Mountain The leaves must be falling… |
484
The Right state that the Left’s use of –ba ka is grating on the ear [kikinikushi], and query whether saying the ‘flow is stopped’ (nagare mo yaranu) is appropriate. The Left simply say the Right’s poem ‘seems old-fashioned’ [furumekashi].
Shunzei’s judgement: The diction used in the Left’s poem, -ba ka, is simply old-fashioned, and the Right’s criticism is misplaced [sama de arubekarazu]. In addition, I am dubious of their criticism of the latter part of the poem. A somewhat pretentious use of ‘falling leaves’, perhaps? In the Right’s poem, it is inappropriate to combine ‘Otowa Mountain’, ‘stream by the barrier’ and –rashi [because it is an archaic word]. It certainly does not resemble, for example, ‘Mountain dwellings of the gods scarlet leaves look to be falling’ (mimuro no yama ni momiji chirurashi). In addition, ‘Scarlet has the stream by the barrier become’, would mean an excessive fall of leaves, indeed! The Left’s ba ka should win.
Left (Win).
眺めやる心のはては廣澤の池より遠ちに出る月影
| nagameyaru kokoro no hate ha hirosawa no ike yori ochi ni izuru tsukikage |
Gazing out My heart goes From Hirosawa Pond somewhere far away With the moonlight… |
409
Right.
廣澤の池には沈む月影の音羽の山に立ちのぼる哉
| hirosawa no ike ni wa shizumu tsukikage no otowa no yama ni tachinoboru kana |
Into Hirosawa Pond sinks Moonlight: Above Mount Otowa Does it rise again? |
The Provisional Master of the Empress’ Household Office.
410
The Right can find no fault with the Left’s poem this round. The Left, on the other hand, say that the Right’s poem, ‘is more redolent of Otowa Mountain than Hirosawa Pond’.
Shunzei’s judgement: The Right seem to be gazing too far away. The Left must win.