Composed when I was at a certain place and telling tales with sundry others before a lady’s curtains and heard a woman’s voice – one of her attendants, no doubt – say, ‘He seems to be strangely knowledgeable about matters of the heart for such an old man!’
あはれてふ事にしるしはなけれどもいはではえこそあらぬ物なれ
aFare teFu koto ni sirusi Fa nakeredomo iFade Fa e koso aranu mono nare
Of sensitivity Surface signs Are their none, yet Saying nothing, indeed, is What makes it plain!
wakana tsumu toshi wa henuredo kasugano no nomori wa kyō ya haru o shiruramu
Plucking fresh herbs do The years pass by, yet On Kasuga Plain, The wardens today Must truly know ‘tis spring. [1]
Mitsune 19
Left (Tie)
けふ見てぞわれはしりぬるはなはなほかすがののべのものにぞありける
kyō mite zo ware wa shirinuru hana wa nao kasuga no nobe no mono ni zo arikeru
Today did I see, and Understood it well, that Blossom, truly, Upon the meadows of Kasuga Is best of all.
20
Right
ありへてもかすがののもりはるにあふはとしもわかなもつめるしるしか
arihete mo kasuga no nomori haru ni au wa toshi mo wakana mo tsumeru shirushi ka
Over passing ages, For the wardens of Kasuga, Encountering the springtime, The years and the fresh herbs, both, Have garnered as a sign, perhaps.
21
[1] A variant of this poem occurs in Shokugosenshū: In the twenty-first year of the same era, on a day when the Kyōgoku Lady of the Bedchamber visited the shrine at Kasuga, he composed this in place of the official from the province of Yamato. としごとにわかなつみつつかすが野ののもりもけふやはるをしるらん toshi goto ni / wakana tsumitsutsu / kasugano no / nomori mo kyō ya / haru o shiruran ‘Every single year / Ever plucking fresh herbs / On Kasuga Plain / The wardens, too, today / Must truly know ‘tis spring.’Mitsune (XVI: 1032/1029)
Composed on seeing the blinds being moved by the wind one evening, around the 20th day of the Waterless Month.
秋ちかくなるしるしにや玉簾こすのまとほし風のすずしき
aki chikaku naru shirushi ni ya tamasudare kosu no ma tōshi kaze no suzushiki
Of approaching autumn Is this a sign, perhaps? Hung with jewels The blinds’ gaps reveal The coolness of the wind.[i]
[i] An allusive variation on: Composed on the moon. 玉垂之 小簾之間通 独居而 見験無 暮月夜鴨 tamadare no / osu no ma tōshi / hitori ite / miru shirushinaki / yūzukuyo kamo ‘Hung with jewels / The blinds’ gaps reveal / Me sitting here alone / How pointless to be gazing out / At the rising moon tonight!’ Anonymous (MYS VII: 1073).
yuki fukami shizu no fuseya mo uzumorete keburi bakari zo shirushi narikeru
Snow so deep that The peasants’ huts, too, Are buried, and The smoke, alone, is Their only sign!
Kinshige 45
Right
花の春もみぢの秋もしるかりし松の木ずゑもみえぬ白雪
hana no haru momiji no aki mo shirukarishi matsu no kozue mo mienu shirayuki
By blossom is spring, and By scarlet leaves is autumn Known— The treetops of the pines Invisible with snow, so white.
Kūnin 46
The Left poem’s conception of ‘sign of smoke’ sounds particularly profound. As for the Right, it is possible for enough snow to fall to conceal a pine’s lower leaves, too, so the poem does not sound satisfying.
uchiharau makura no chiri mo kakurenaku aretaru yado o terasu tsukikage
Needing to be swept away, The dust upon my pillow Cannot be concealed In my dilapidated dwelling, when The moonlight shines within…
Taifu 37
Right
秋の夜の月みる袖におく露やひるにかはれるしるしなるらん
aki no yo no tsuki miru sode ni oku tsuyu ya hiru ni kawareru shirushi naruran
On an autumn night Upon my sleeves, when gazing at the moon, Fall dewdrops— That all is changed from daytime Might they be a sign?
Yorisuke 38
In both the moon is bright, and I feel they reflect the essential meaning of the topic, but as its diction is currently slightly more familiar, I make the Left the winner. It would be possible to call this a tie, too, though.
Composed on the conception of visiting distant blossom in the mountains, on a day when he was due to return after paying a visit to the residence of the regent.
たづねつる花のあたりになりにけりにほふにしるしはるの山かぜ
tazuneturu Fana no atari ni narinikeri nioFu ni sirusi Fa Faru no yamakaze
I have paid a visit to A place of blossom Here; Of their scent a sign is carried On the spring mountain breezes.
