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.
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
Topic unknown.
さざなみや志賀のからさき風さえてひらのたかねに霰ふるなり
| sazanami ya shiga no karasaki kaze saete hira no takane ni arare furunari | Wavelets wash Karasaki in Shiga, and The wind is chill, so On the high peaks of Hira The hail must be falling. |
The Hosshōji Lay Priest, former Chancellor and Palace Minister [Fujiwara no Tadamichi]
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
Clouds 雲
まぢかくてめなれし身にもありふればとほざかり行くみねの白雲
| majikakute menareshi mi ni mo arifureba tōzakariyuku mine no shirakumo | Close together and Familiar were we – that Is normal, when Growing ever distant are The white clouds o’er the peaks… |
Nakazane
Topic unknown.
山ざくらわがみにくればはるがすみ峰にもおにもたちかくしつつ
| yamazakura wa ga mi ni kureba Farugasumi mine ni mo oni mo tachikakusitutu | When mountain cherries Have I come to see, The haze of spring, Around the peaks, and foothills, too, Ever does arise to hide them… |
Anonymous
The Path Across the Shiga Mountains (志賀山越)
春がすみたなびく山の山の井にかけみるさへもあさましきかな
| harugasumi tanabiku yama no yama no i ni kage miru sae mo asamashiki kana | Spring hazes Trail across the peaks, where In a mountain spring I glimpse a human form – How startling! |
Nakazane
夏山の峰の梢し高ければ空にぞ蟬の声も聞ゆる
| natuyama no mine no kozuwe si takakereba sora ni zo semi no kowe mo kikoyuru |
Summer mountain Tree-topped peaks Are so high that, Out among the skies the cicadas’ Song I hear. |
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.
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.