Composed when he held a poetry competition at his house.
よもすがら富士の高嶺に雲きえて清見が関にすめる月かな
| yomosugara Fudi no takane ni kumo kiete kiyomi ga seki ni sumeru tuki kana |
All through this night From the mighty peak of Fuji Have the clouds cleared, and Above the barrier of Kiyomi Brightly shines the moon. |
Akisuke, Master of the Left Capital Office
左京大夫顕輔
Composed for the Poetry Competition held at the Residence of the Former Uji Grand Minister in Chōgen 8 [1035].
君が世は白雲かかる筑波嶺の峰のつづきの海となるまで
| kimi ga yo Fa sirakumo kakaru tukubane no mine no tuduki no umi to naru made |
My Lord’s reign: White clouds cling To the peak of Tsukuba; Until those very heights Shall sink into the sea! |
Nōin
Left (Win).
忘れじの契を頼む別かな空行く月の末を數へて
| wasureji no chigiri o tanomu wakare kana sora yuku tsuki no sue o kazoete |
Not to forget I promised – trust that On our parting. The moon’s transit through the sky Is the number of our meeting. |
719
Right.
風吹かば峰に別れん雲をだにありし名殘の形見とも見よ
| kaze fukaba mine ni wakaren kumo o dani arishi nagori no katami to mo miyo |
If the wind should blow, Parting from the peak, Even the clouds My memories Seem to represent! |
720
The Gentlemen of the Right state: the Left’s poem is most moving. The Right’s poem, the Gentlemen of the Left state, is fine.
Shunzei’s judgement: the Left’s poem has one counting to the end of the moon’s transits through the sky, while the Right has clouds parting from a mountain peak being the poet’s thoughts given form. Both poems are elegant in configuration and diction, but the Right’s ‘even the clouds’ (kumo ni dani) does not fit with the ending. The Left maintains its connections from beginning to end. Thus, I make it the winner.