In a place famous for the autumn moon
さざなみやひらの山風さよふけて月影さむししがのからさき
sazanami ya hira no yamakaze sayo fukete tsukikage samushi shiga no karasaki Wavelets stir at The breeze from Hira Mountain, As night draws on and The moonlight chills Karasaki in Shiga.
さざ波やしがのみやこの花ざかり風よりさきにとはましものを
sazanami ya shiga no miyako no hanazakari kaze yori saki ni towamashi mono o Wavelets wash The capital of Shiga’s Profusion of blossom— Before the wind I wish that I had paid a call…
Created with Soan.
Fallen blossom by a lake.
山かぜのさくら吹きまきちる花のみだれてみゆるしがのうらなみ
yamakaze no sakura fukimaki chiru hana no midarete miyuru shiga no uranami The mountain wind’s Gusts, scattering cherry blossom round, Strewn petals In seeming confusion Upon the waves on Shiga’s shore.
Created with Soan.
里はあれぬ志賀の花ぞのそのかみの昔の春や恋しかるらん
sato wa arenu shiga no hanazono no sono kami no mukashi no haru ya koishikaruran The estate lies in ruins, so Shiga’s blossom gardens In those days Of spring, long gone, Do seem especially dear.
Created by Soan.
Topic unknown.
さざなみや志賀のからさき風さえてひらのたかねに霰ふるなり
sazanami ya shiga no karasaki kaze saete hira no takane ni arare furunari Wavelets wash Karasaki in Shiga, and The wind is chill, so On the high peaks of Hira The hail must be falling.
The Hosshōji Lay Priest, former Chancellor and Palace Minister [Fujiwara no Tadamichi]
Cathay Folk 唐人
から人は志賀のをじまに舟出してなから待つらんはたて初むなり
karabito wa shiga no ojima ni funade shite nakara matsuran hatate somu nari The Cathay folk From the islet of Shiga Have set sail; Awaiting the mid-point Have they first reached the edge…
Toshiyori
The Path Across the Shiga Mountains (志賀山越)
まだしらぬ人と友にぞこえにけるしがの山ぢの跡もなけれど
mada shiranu hito to tomo ni zo koenikeru shiga no yamaji no ato mo nakeredo With an unknown Companion, together Have I crossed Shiga’s mountain paths Leaving traces none, and yet…
Akinaka
Left (Tie) よそにやは釣する志賀の海人を見ん枕の下を知らせだにせば
yoso ni ya wa tsuri suru shiga no ama o min makura no shita o shirase dani seba Unconnected with Fishing diver-girls At Shiga would I seem? When what lies beneath my pillow Is revealed…
Lord Ari’ie 1173
Right 潮たるる袖にあはれの深きより心に浮ぶ海人の釣舟
shio taruru sode ni aware no fukaki yori kokoro ni ukabu ama no tsuribune Tide-spattered Sleeves: my sorrow is So deep that Floating upon my heart is A diver-girl’s fishing boat!
Nobusada 1174
Left and Right together state: no faults.
In judgement: the poem of the Left has ‘unconnected with fishing diver-girls at Shiga would I seem?’ (yoso ni ya wa tsuri suru shiga no ama o min ) and the poem of the Right has ‘floating upon my heart is a diver-girl’s fishing boat!’ (kokoro ni ukabu ama no tsuribune ): both have profound conception and their diction sounds pleasant, so it is difficult to divide them into superior and inferior works. Thus, I make this a tie.
Left (Win) さざ浪や志賀津の海士になりにけりみるめはなくて袖のしほるる
sazanami ya shigatsu no ama ni narinikeri mirume wa nakute sode no shioruru Rocked by wavelets A fisherman at Shiga Bay Have I become! Glimpsing no seaweed, How my sleeves are soaked…
Lord Suetsune 1171
Right 伊勢の海の底までかづく海人なれやみるめに人を思ふ心は
ise no umi no soko made kazuku ama nare ya mirume ni hito o omou kokoro wa At Ise, to the sea Bed dive Fisher-girls: Am I one, too? A seaweed-tangled glimpse of you Lodging in my heart…
Jakuren 1172
The Right state: the Left’s poem has no faults to mention. The Left state: neither beginning nor end is sufficiently forcefully expressed.
In judgement: the conception and configuration of the Left’s ‘fisherman at Shiga Bay’ (shigatsu no ama ) certainly seem splendid. That is really all there is to say about this poem. To make a deliberate point of seeking out elements which sound difficult is a pointless activity for the Way of Poetry and an individual poet. As for the Right’s poem, diving ‘to the sea bed’ (soko made ) is just something that fisher-girls do. The Left must win.
Composed as a poem on blossom.
桜咲く比良の山風吹くままに花になりゆく志賀の浦浪
sakura saku
Fira no yamakaze
Fuku mama ni
Fana ni nariyuku
siga no uranami
Cherries flower on
Hira Mountain while
Breezes blow
All turned to blossom are
The waves on Shiga’s shore.
Middle Captain of the Inner Palace Guards, Left Division, [Fujiwara no] Yoshitsune
左近中将良経
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'Simply moving and elegant'