Left — Maidenflowers
うつろへるところありともをみなへしのべのふるさとわすれざらなむ
| utsuroeru tokoro ari tomo ominaeshi nobe no furusato wasurezaranamu | Faded Spots they have, yet, Maidenflowers At an old estate among the fields Never will I forget! |
7
Right
あきののにあだなのみたつをみなへし花さかぬまはしる人ぞなき
| aki no no ni adana nomi tatsu ominaeshi hana sakanu ma wa shiru hito zo naki | In the autumn plains Faithless rumours, alone, arise Of my maidenflower— But while she is not in bloom, There’s no one knows, at all! |
8
Silver grass
Left (Tie)
はなすすきほにいづるをのはしらくものあさゐるとのみあやまたれけり
| hanasusuki ho ni izuru ono wa shirakumo no asa iru to nomi ayamatarekeri | Silver grass Fronds appear upon the plains For clouds of white Spreading through the morning, simply Have I mistaken them. |
Ariwara no Suetaka
15
Right
はなすすきほのくれがたのつゆけきはうきよのなかをそよとしればか
| hanasusuki ho no kuregata no tsuyukeki wa ukiyo no naka o soyo to shireba ka | The silver grass Fronds at twilight Are dew-drenched— That this cruel world Is so, I wonder if they know? |
Fujiwara no Aritoki
16
Round Three
Left
まきのやのしぐれのおとにゆめさめてみやここひしきねにぞぬれぬる
| maki no ya no shigure no oto ni yume samete miyako koishiki ne ni zo nurenuru | Beneath a roof of cypress boards The sound of showers Wakes me from my dreams, and Longing for the capital I drench myself with weeping. |
Chūnagon
55
Right (Win)
たびねするのぢのしばやにおとづれてすぐるはよはのしぐれなりけり
| tabinesuru noji no shibaya ni otozurete suguru wa yowa no shigure narikeri | Sleeping on my travels Cross the plains in a brushwood hut A sound comes calling, Passing by at midnight— A shower. |
Sokaku
56
The style of the Left’s poem is elegant but, in addition to feeling that there may well be cypress roofs in places other than the capital, the final line is insufficient, I think. The Right’s poem has nothing remarkable about it, but it sounds pleasant. I make it the winner.
Maidenflowers
Left
なびくとや人はみるらんをみなへしおもふかたにぞかぜもふきける
| nabiku to ya hito wa miruran ominaeshi omou kata ni zo kaze mo fukikeru | ‘Are they trailing?’ Folk wonder at the sight of The maidenflowers, and As they thought The wind, too, was blowing… |
7
Right
おほかたののべなるよりはをみなへしねやのつまにてみるはまされり
| ōkata no nobe naru yori wa ominaeshi neya no tsuma nite miru wa masareri | So wide are The plains, but I’d rather A maidenflower— My wife in the bedchamber: Seeing her is better far! |
8
Left
しらつゆのおけるあしたのをみなへしはなにもはにもたまぞかかれる
| shiratsuyu no okeru ashita no ominaeshi hana ni mo ha ni mo tama zo kakareru | Silver dewdrops Fallen in the morning on A maidenflower: Both bloom and leaves Are all hung with pearls. |
7[1]
Right
をみなへしたてるのざとをうちすぎてうらみむつゆにぬれやん
| ominaeshi tateru nozato o uchisugite uramimu tsuyu ni nure ya wataran | A maidenflower Stands at a house upon the plains As I pass by; Is it her resentful dew That has drenched me on my way? |
8
[1] Gyokuyōshū 526; Shinsen man’yōshū 606; Kokin rokujō 3687
Composed in the conception of hidden love after a vow, when the gentlemen were composing poetry at the Hosshōji at around time of the offering of flowers in the Fifth Month.
憑めこし野邊の道芝夏ふかしいづくなるらむ鵙の草ぐき
| tanomekoshi nobe no michishiba natsu fukashi izukunaruramu mozu no kusaguki |
Trusting her, I have come To the overgrown plains, where Summer lies deep; Where can The shrike be hiding in the grasses? |
Master of the Dowager Empress Household Office, Shunzei
皇太后宮大夫俊成
