Tag Archives: pines

Kanpyō no ōntoki chūgū uta’awase 8

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

Shiki koi sanshu uta’awase – Summer

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

Uhyōe shōjō sadafumi uta’awase 5

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

Conclusion

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

Love IX: 12

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.

Love IX: 10

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.