Tag Archives: sedge

Saishō chūjō kuninobu no ie no uta’awase

Saishō chūjō kuninobu no ie no uta’awase 14

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Left (Win).
夜とともに玉散る床の菅枕見せばや人に夜半の景色を

yo to tomo ni
tama tiru toko no
sugamakura
miseba ya Fito ni
yowa no kesiki wo		 Together with the night
Gemlets scatter on my bed’s
Sedge-filled pillow;
Should I show her
This midnight sight?

The Master 大夫
[Minamoto no Toshiyori 源俊頼]
27

Right.
波のよる岩根に立てる磯馴れ松また寝もいらで恋ひあかしつる

nami no yoru
iFane ni tateru
sonare matu
mata ne mo irade
koFi akasituru		 The waves roll in
To the cliffs where stands
A hardy pine upon the rocks;
Once more sleepless
From love do I greet the dawn.

The Assistant Master 佐
[Fujiwara no Mototoshi 藤原基俊]
28

Man'yōshū

MYS IV: 679

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A poem sent by the Elder Maiden of Nakatomi to Ōtomo, sukune Yakamochi.

いなと言はば強ひめや我が背菅の根の思ひ乱れて恋ひつつもあらむ

ina ipaba
sipime ya wa ga se
suga no ne no
omopimidarete
koitutu mo aramu		 Should you tell me no,
Should I pointlessly implore you?
As the sedge-roots
In a tangle of passion
Will I ever love you!

The Elder Maiden of Nakatomi
中臣郎女

Man'yōshū

MYS III: 299

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A poem composed by Lord Ōtomo, Major Councillor.

奥山の菅の葉しのぎ降る雪の消なば惜しけむ雨な降りそね

okuyama no
suga no pa sinogi
puru yuki no
kenaba wosikemu
ame na puri so ne		 Deep within the mountains
The sedge-stalks are weighed down with
Falling snow, but
Should it vanish, how I would regret it, so
Fall not, O rain!

Ōtomo no Yasumaro (?-714)
大伴安麻呂

Gosenshū

GSS XIV: 1024

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When a man who had long visited a woman at the house of the Sugawara Minister, ceased coming for a while, and then came once more.

菅原や伏見の里の荒れしより通ひし人のあともたえにき

sugaFara ya
Fusimi no sato no
aresi yori
kayoFisi Fito no
ato mo taeniki		 Sedge fields lie
Around the estate of Fushimi,
All long overgrown;
He who passed across them
Has left no tracks at all…

Anonymous

Poetry Competition in Six Hundred Rounds

Love II: 21

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Left (Win).

菅薦の三編には我も寢たれども逢嬉さにしく物ぞなき

sugagomo no
mifu ni wa ware mo
netaredomo
au ureshisa ni
shiku mono zo naki		 Beneath sedge woven blankets
Three layers thick
Have I slept, yet
To the joy of meeting you
Nothing can compare!

Lord Kanemune

701

Right.

戀々てあひみる夜半ぞまさりける人の心の知らまほしさに

koigoite
aimiru yow azo
masarikeru
hito no kokoro no
shiramahoshisa ni		 Long has our love been and
Now we meet, at last;
In the midst of this night
How great are her feelings –
That’s what I would know!

Ietaka

702

Left and Right both say their opponent’s poem expresses the truth of the matter.

Shunzei’s judgement: the Left’s poem, in addition to drawing upon earlier work, seems technically accomplished. The Right’s poem does express a form of truth, yet would one really wish to know so much? The Left wins.