Tag Archives: peaks

Kanpyō no ōntoki chūgū uta’awase 10

Round Ten

Left

千鳥啼くさほの川霧たちぬなり嶺の紅葉の色まさりけり

chidori naku
sao no kawagiri
tachinu nari
mine no momiji no
iro masarikeri
Plovers cry, as
The mists from the Sao River
Have risen;
On the peaks the scarlet leaves’
Hues are fine, indeed.

19

Right

This poem is missing from the surviving texts of the competition.

Kanpyō no ōntoki chūgū uta’awase 6

Round Six

Left

夏山のみねのこずゑのたかければなく郭公こゑかはるかな

natsuyama no
mine no kozue no
takakereba
naku hototogisu
koe kawaru kana
The summer mountain
Peaks have treetops
So high, that
The crying cuckoo’s
Calls stand for them.

11

Right (Win)

おほあらきのもりの下草茂りあひてふかくも夏のなりにけるかな

ōaraki no
mori no shitagusa
moriaite
fukaku mo natsu no
narinikeru kana
In Ōaraki
Forest the undergrowth
Has grown so thick, that
Deep summer is
Surely here!

Mitsune
12

FGS IV: 410

On summer trees, when His Majesty, the Former Emperor, ordered him to produce a thirty poem sequence.

虹のたつふもとの杉は雲にきえて峰よりはるるゆふだちのあめ

niji no tatsu
fumoto no sugi wa
kumo ni kiete
mine yori haruru
yūdachi no ame
A rainbow rises above
Cedars in the foothills,
Vanishing in the clouds
Clearing from the peaks,
With an evening shower of rain.

Former Senior Assistant Governor General of Dazai Toshikane

Love V: 16

Left.
思ひこそ千島の奥を隔てねどえぞ通はさぬ壺の碑

omoi koso
chishima no oku o
hedatenedo
ezo kayowasanu
tsubo no ishibumi
My love
Has not the Thousand Islands
Barring it, yet
The barbarians cannot pass
The Stone at Tsubo – nor can I write to you!

Kenshō
871

Right (Win).
思ひやる心幾重の峰越えて信夫の奧を尋ね入るらん

omoiyaru
kokoro ikue no
mine koete
shinobu no oku o
tazuneiruran
Dwelling on you,
My heart numberless
Peaks will cross
To the depths of Shinobu,
Perhaps to visit someone hidden there?

Ietaka
872

As the previous round.

In judgement: the Left’s ‘Thousand Islands’ (chishima) is a familiar expression from the past, but I do not recall it being used in poetry. I am familiar with the Right’s ‘depths of Shinobu’ (shinobu no oku), so that is better. Again, the Right wins.

Love V: 13

Left (Tie).
行通ふ心の戀をしるべにてまだ見ぬ峰を幾重越ゆらん

yukikayou
kokoro no koi o
shirube nite
mada minu mine o
ikue koyuran
Crossing distances, with
Our hearts’ love
As a guide;
How many unseen peaks
Must I yet cross…

Lord Ari’ie.
865

Right.
尋ぬべき程を聞くにもいとゞしく心の道ぞまづ迷ひぬる

tazunubeki
hodo o kiku ni mo
itodoshiku
kokoro no michi zo
mazu mayoinuru
The distance I must travel:
When I ask how far it is,
More and more
Does my heart upon the path
Begin by wandering lost.

Lord Takanobu.
866

The Right state: we wonder about the appropriateness of the expression ‘our hearts’ love’ (kokoro no koi)? The Left state: the Right’s poem has no faults to mention.

In judgement: the Left’s ‘our hearts’ love’ is something I am completely unaccustomed to hearing. The Right’s poem does have ‘my heart upon the path’ (kokoro no michi), but the use of ‘more and more’ (itodoshiku) means it is difficult to make it a winner. The round should tie.