Poems for a folding screen for His Majesty, former Emperor En’yū.
住吉の岸のふぢなみわがやどの松のこずゑに色はまさらじ
| sumiyosi no kisi no Fudinami wa ga yado no matu no kozuwe ni iro wa masarazi | On Sumiyoshi’s Shore are wisteria waves, but Those at my house, In the treetops of the pines Are not less superb in hue… |
Taira no Kanemori
Written on a folding screen.
すみのえの岸のひめ松ふりにけりいづれの世にか種はまきけん
| suminoe no kishi no himematsu furinikeri izure no yo ni ka tane wa makiken | At Suminoe The princess pines upon the shore Have grown old; Which was the reign when Their seeds might have been a’planted?[i] |
630
[i] See: Topic unknown. 梓弓いそべのこ松たが世にかよろづ世かねてたねをまきけむ azusayumi / isobe no komatsu / ta ga yo ni ka / yorozuyo kanete / tane o makikemu ‘A catalpa bow, / The dwarf-pine upon the rocky shore / Has through whose lifetimes lived? / “That it last ten thousand ages!” / Was with its seed a’planted, perhaps?’ Anonymous (Kokinshū XVII: 907); and: Topic unknown. 我見てもひさしく成りぬ住の江の岸の姫松いくよへぬらむ ware mite mo / hisashiku narinu / suminoe no / kishi no himematsu / iku yo henuramu ‘Even to my sight / Eternal are / Suminoe’s / Princess pines upon the shore: / How many ages have they passed through?’ Anonymous (Kokinshū XVII: 905)
旅ねするいせの浜をぎつゆながらむすぶ枕にやどる月かげ
| tabinesuru ise no hamaogi tsuyu nagara musubu makura ni yadoru tsukikage | Sleeping on my travels, with Cogon grass from the shore at Ise, Dew covered, Woven for my pillow, Moonlight’s lodging.[i] |
568
[i] See: 神風之 伊勢乃浜荻 折伏 客宿也将為 荒浜辺尓 kamukaze no/ ise no hamaogi / orifusete / tabine ya suramu / araki hamabe ni ‘Divine winds blow / Cogon grass on the shore at Ise / I weave and lay me down— / Should I doze upon my travels? / On this wild beachside…’ (Man’yōshū IV: 500).
Round Seven
Left
恋せじとおもひなるせによる浪のかへりてそれもくるしかりけり
| koiseji to omoinaru se ni yoru nami no kaerite sore mo kurushikarikeri | I’ll love you no more, Did I come to think, the crash of Breaking waves Returning, but that, too Has brought me pain. |
Lord Kanemasa
61
Right (Both Judges – Win)
玉藻かる忍ぶの浦の蜑だにもいとかく袖はぬるるものかは
| tamamo karu shinobu no ura no ama dani mo ito kaku sode wa nururu mono ka wa | Reaping gemweed On Shinobu shore, Do even the fisherfolk Have sleeves so very Drenched, indeed? |
Lord Masamitsu
62
Toshiyori states: both of these are charming, however, a line from a famous poem is used for as the initial section, and in such cases the new poem should not closely evoke the source. Someone once said something similar, a long time ago. It’s a bit inferior, isn’t it.
Mototoshi states: neither of these contain any errors, yet the section following the central ‘crash of / Breaking waves’ seems intermittently painful, with sleeves damper than those of the fisherfolk on Shinobu shore. It seems a bit better at present.
