Round Eight
Left
秋風の吹来る声はやまながらなみ立ちかへるおとぞきこゆる
| akikaze no fukikuru koe wa yama nagara nami tachikaeru oto zo kikoyuru | The autumn breeze’s Cry comes gusting; And in the mountains, The sound of waves washing back and forth Comes to my ears. |
15
Right
すみの江の松を秋風吹くからにこゑうちそふる沖つ白なみ
| suminoe no matsu o akikaze fuku kara ni koe uchisouru oki tsu shiranami | At Suminoe The pines by the autumn breeze Are blown, so The sound lies atop The whitecaps in the offing. |
16
Summer
Left
夏くればかみにあふひの草つみてかざしにいのるひとにばかりぞ
| natsu kureba kami ni aoi no kusa tsumite kazashi ni inoru hito ni bakari zo | When the summer comes For the God, hollyhocks Are plucked, and for a Prayer placed in the hair of All folk, every one! |
7
夏草も茂りにければ駿河なる田子のうらなへ今やひくらん
| natsu kusa mo shigerinikereba suruga naru tago no ura nae ima ya hikuran | The summer grasses, too, Have grown lush, so As Suruga’s Tago Bay, Do they now extend their charm? |
8
夏虫のやどるにまつは色ならで春秋空にうつろひやする
| natsumushi no yadoru ni matsu wa iro narade haru aki sora ni utsuroi ya suru | The summer insects Lodge upon the pines Unchanging hues; Is it the spring and autumn skies Which fade away? |
9
Right
卯花の咲く夏の夜はやみなれどかきねにやどる月かとぞみる
| u no hana no saku natsu no yo wa yami naredo kakine ni yadoru tsuki ka to zo miru | The deutzia flowers Bloom upon a summer night ‘Tis dark, yet Lodged upon my brushwood fence I wonder if I see the moon? |
10
五月きぬことかたらはむほととぎす君にあふちの花も咲きけり
| satsuki kinu koto katarawamu hototogisu kimi ni auchi no hana mo sakikeri | That the Fifth Month has come Is announced by The cuckoo: For you, the chinaberry Blossoms, too, have bloomed. |
11
空蝉のからにはあらで置く露の身をあらたむる心なるべし
| utsusemi no kara ni wa arade oku tsuyu no mi o aratamuru kokoro narubeshi | A cicada’s shed Shell I am not, for The dripping dew Does refresh my flesh, or So my heart seems to feel. |
12
For a folding screen in the residence of Lord Kōtoku.
ふゆされ嵐のこゑもたかさごの松につけてぞきくべかりける
| Fuyu sareba arasi no kowe mo takasago no matu ni tukete zo kikubekarikeru | When it is winter, The storm-winds’ howling Through Takasago’s Pines is What I hear. |
[Ōnakatomi no] Yoshinobu
Gazing at snow on the mountain pines in the morning (秋山望松雪)
Left
おりもせず雲もかからぬ山のはに松の上なる雪をこそみれ
| ori mo sezu kumo mo kakaranu yama no Fa ni matu no uFe naru yuki koso mire | Not descending The clouds cling not To the mountains’ edge where Upon the pines I clearly see the snow. |
8
Right
山のはのさやかに照れる朝には松にかかれる雪もみえける
| yama no Fa no sayaka ni tereru asita ni Fa matu ni kakareru yuki mo miekeru | The mountains’ edge is Brightly shining In the morning: Clinging to the pines I can see the snow. |
9
From the Poetry Contest at Prince Koresada’s House.
松の音に風のしらべをまかせては竜田姫こそ秋はひくらし
| matu no ne ni kaze no sirabe wo makasete Fa tatutaFime koso aki Fa Fikurasi | Sighing through the pines The wind is being tuned Up— Princess Tatsuta The notes of autumn does seem to pluck. |
Mibu no Tadamine
Next Door 隣
色かへてふりぬる物は年たかきとなりの松とわれとなりけり
| iro kaete furinuru mono wa toshi takaki tonari no matsu to ware to narikeri | Hues do change as Age falls upon one: Towering with years have Both the pines next door and I become. |
Nakazane
Love Waiting for Someone 待人恋
すみよしの松とは人のしらねばやなみうちたえてきしもせざらん
| sumiyoshi no matsu to wa hito no shiraneba ya nami uchitaete kishi mo sezaran | At Sumiyoshi are The pines of folk All unknowing? The waves have stopped, and Even the shore seems untouched. |
Tadafusa
住吉の松はあはれもかけやせむ八十過ぬる和歌の浦波
| sumiyoshi no matsu wa aware mo kake ya semu yasoji suginuru waka no uranami | At Sumiyoshi will The pines feel compassion For me? Spending more than eighty years Washed by the waves of Waka Bay… |
Judge
1201
和歌の浦のしるべとなれる老の浪げに住吉の松も知るらん
| waka no ura no shirube to nareru oi no nami geni sumiyoshi no matsu mo shiruran | To Waka Bay A guide have you become, Washed by waves of age; Truly, at Sumiyoshi The pines will know that well! |
A Servant Girl
1202
Left (Win)
住みなれし人はこずゑに絶えはてて琴の音にのみ通ふ松風
| suminareshi hito wa kozue ni taehatete koto no ne ni nomi kayou matsukaze |
Accustomed to his being here, Now, he comes not and from the treetops All that endures Are my zither’s strains, Blending with the pines. |
Lord Ari’ie
1103
Right
聞かじただつれなき人の琴の音にいとはず通ふ松の風をば
| kikaji tada tsurenaki hito no koto no ne ni itowazu kayou matsu no kaze o ba |
I will listen no more! To that cruel man’s Zither strains Heedlessly blending With the wind from off the pines… |
Nobusada
1104
The Right state: it sounds as if the man is enduring on the treetops. The Left state: ‘I will listen no more!’ (kikaji tada) is extremely coarse.
In judgement: while it may sound as if the man is enduring on the treetops in the Left’s poem, this is no more than a standard use of metaphorical expression, and the configuration of ‘accustomed to his being here, now, he comes not and from the treetops’ (suminareshi hito wa kozue ni) sounds fine, with the latter part of the poem also being elegant. The initial line of the Right’s poem has a conception of closing up the ears to block one’s auditory sense, which seems excessive. Clearly, the Left’s ‘my zither’s strains’ (koto no ne ni nomi) must win.
Left (Win)
あはれとて聞き知る人はなけれども恋しき琴の音こそ絶えせね
| aware tote kikishiru hito wa nakeredomo koishiki koto no ne koso taesene |
To be moved By hearing is there No one, yet My beloved zither’s Strains sound on and on… |
Kenshō
1099
Right
なをざりにはかなくすさむ琴の音もまつには通ふ物とこそ聞け
| naozari ni hakanaku susamu koto no ne mo matsu ni wa kayou mono to koso kike |
Carelessly and Wildly plucked My zither’s strains Blend with the pines I had heard… |
Lord Takanobu
1100
The Right state: the Left’s poem has no faults to mention. The Left state: the Right’s poem is not bad.
In judgement: both Gentlemen’s ‘zithers’ (koto) appear to be equally elegant, and the Right has a fine final section. The Left seems pleasant in both the initial and latter sections. So, the Left wins.