On wind, from among His Former Majesty’s Miscellaneous poems.
ひびきくる松のうれより吹きおちて草にこゑやむ山の下風
hibikikuru matsu no ure yori fuki’ochite kusa ni koe yamu yama no shitakaze | Echoes come From the pine-branch tips, as Gusting down and Losing its voice among the grass Is the wind from off the mountains |
His Former Majesty [Fushimi]
Created with Soan.
Left (Win)
さくらちるこのしたかぜはさむからでそらにしられぬゆきぞふりける
sakura chiru ko no shitakaze wa samukarade sora ni shirarenu yuki zo furikeru | The cherry scattering Breeze beneath the trees Lacks chill— Unaware from within the skies The snow is falling. |
Tsurayuki
13[i]
Right
わがこころはるのやまべにあくがれてながながしひをけふもくらしつ
wa ga kokoro haru no yamabe ni akugarete naganagashi hi o kyō mo kurashitsu | My heart to The mountainside in springtime Is drawn— The long, long day Today, too, has reached its dusk. |
Mitsune
14[ii]
The Left wins. ‘The Right has “long, long” which is a disagreeable word. It was hissed through pursed lips with drooping shoulders,’ and so it lost.
[i] This poem is included in Shūishū (I: 64), with the headnote, ‘From Former Emperor Uda’s Poetry Contest’.
[ii] This poem is included in Shinkokinshū (I: 81), attributed to Tsurayuki with the headnote ‘A poem from Former Emperor Uda’s Poetry Contest’.
夏衣薄きかひなく秋待てば木の下風のやまず吹かなむ
natugoromo
usuki kaFinaku
aki mateba
ko no sitakaze no
yamazu Fukanamu |
My summer garb is
Thin, but to no effect, so
I will wait for autumn, then
Beneath the trees the breezes
Will blow ceaselessly! |
'Simply moving and elegant'