Bush clover
Left
しかのこゑたかさごやまのはぎなればをりてこしよりねをやなくらん
shika no koe takasagoyama no hagi nareba oritekoshi yori ne o ya nakuran A stag’s cry On Takasago Mountain, where Lies bush clover: Might someone have come and picked her That he lets out such cries?
11
Right
あきはぎの花のながるるかはのせにしがらみかくるしかのねもせぬ
akihagi no hana no nagaruru kawa no se ni shigarami kakuru shika no ne mo senu Autumn bush clover Blooms flow down The river rapids and Hang upon the lattice weir, and The stag cries not at all…
12
あふせをば流れてとこそたのめしかいかにとだにも音なしのたき
ause oba nagarete to koso tanomeshi ka ika ni to dani mo otonashi no taki Our meeting, like the rapids, Will flow on—can I Trust in that? However much they seem The silenced cataract of Otonashi…
Lady Ki 39
In reply.
すみわぶる名をながさじとつつむまにしばしよどむぞ音なしの滝
sumiwaburu na no nagasaji to tsutsumu ma ni shibashi yodomu zo otonashi no taki Living on in sorrow and Letting no word of it flow out— Thus wrapped up Briefly stilled has been The cataract of Otonashi.
Supernumerary Minor Captain Morotoki 40
数ならで世に住江のみをつくしいつを待つともなき身なりけり
kazu narade yo ni sumie no mi o tsukushi itsu o matsu tomo nakimi narikeri Countless are The generations spent at Sumie, with The channel buoys: exhausted What should I await but To be dead.
Master of the Left Capital Office Toshiyori 15
In reply
ながれてもあふせは絶えじ住江の身をつくしてもくちはててなん
nagaretemo ause wa taeji sumie no mi o tsukushitemo kuchihatetenan Flowing on, yet The rapids’ meetings will not cease; At Sumie with The channel buoys, you may be exhausted, but Would you rot away…
Kazusa, in service to the Empress 16
Channel buoys. Image by Claudia Thorn from Pixabay
あきのむしなどわびしげにこゑのするたのめしかげに露やもりくる
aki no mushi nado wabishige ni koe no suru tanomeshi kage ni tsuyu ya morikuru Why do the autumn insects And more let out plaintive Cries; Is your trustworthy face Drenched in dew?
67
もみぢばのながれてゆけば山がはのあさきせだにもあきはふかみぬ
momijiba no nagareteyukeba yamagawa no asaki se dani mo aki wa fukaminu The scarlet leaves Have come flowing, so The mountain stream’s Shallow rapids—even they Are deep in autumn!
68
Boats 船
水あさみ川せの波はたつものをくだすう舟のみつや何なる
mizu asami kawase no nami wa tatsu mono o kudasu ubune no mitsu ya ika naru How shallow the waters in The river rapids where waves Arise – What will become of the cormorant boats, sailing down If they be full?
Tadafusa
Stones 石
おく山の人もかよはぬ谷川にせぜの石ばしたれわたしけん
okuyama no hito mo kayowanu tanikawa ni seze no ishibashi tare watashiken Deep within the mountains, where Folk never go, lies A stream within a valley, The rapids spanned by a bridge of stones, But who might it be that built it?
Higo
Left (Tie).
吉野河はやき流れを堰く岩のつれなき中に身を砕くらん
yoshinogawa
hayaki nagare o
seku iwa no
tsurenaki naka ni
mi o kudakuran
The River Yoshino’s
Swift flow is
Dammed by boulders;
With the chilling of our bond
It seems my very self will shatter…
A Servant Girl
995
Right.
ありとても逢はぬためしの名取川朽ちだにはてよ瀬せの埋れ木
ari tote mo
awanu tameshi no
natorigawa
kuchi dani hateyo
sese no mumoregi
We live, yet
Cannot meet – our situation
A source of rumours; in the River Natori
Let all rot away with
The drowned trees in the rapids!
Jakuren .
996
Both Left and Right together state: we find no faults to mention.
In judgement: both poems are extremely good. This is a tie of quality.
Left (Tie).
雲井まで續きて見ゆわたつ海の行衛知られぬ物思かな
kumoi made
tsuzukite miyu
wata tsu umi no
yukue shirarenu
mono’omoi kana
Beyond the clouds
My gaze goes on and on;
The endless sea:
What lies beyond is unknown
As my gloomy thoughts…
Lord Suetsune .
979
Right.
伊勢の海の潮瀬にさはぐさざれ石の砕けて物を思ふ比かな
ise no umi no
shiose ni sawagu
sazare’ishi no
kudakete mono o
omou koro kana
The sea at Ise:
Raging rapids with the tides,
Where pebbles
Shatter, gloom
Filling my thoughts these days…
Ietaka .
980
The Right state: the Left’s poem is clichéd. The Left state: the Right’s poem is that of Shigeyuki.
In judgement: the Left’s poem is clichéd, but in addition to this uses ‘goes on and on’ (tsuzukite ), which is not something one should say. The Right’s poem is, indeed, overly close to Shigeyuki’s, so both Left and Right poem are deficient and lacking in any element allowing a win.
禊する瀬見の小川の清き瀬に君が齢を猶祈るかな
misogisuru
semi no wogaFa no
kiyoki se ni
kimi ga yoFaFi wo
naFo inoru kana
In cleansing
Semi Stream’s
Pure rapids
For my Lord’s long life
I will ever pray!
Minamoto no Shitagō
源順
Composed on rivers.
泊瀬川白木綿花に落ちたぎつ瀬をさやけみと見に来し我れを
patusegapa
sirayupupana ni
otitagitu
se no sayakemi to
minikosi ware wo
The River Hatsuse
As white mulberry blossom
Tumbles;
The rapids feel so fresh to
Me, come to gaze upon them…
Anonymous
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'Simply moving and elegant'