Coming of Age 元服
こよひゆふはつもとゆひのむらさきのま袖の色にはやもなりなん
| koyoi yuu hatsu motoyui no murasaki no masode no iro ni haya mo narinan | This eve is tied Your first topknot With violet Hues I would your fair sleeve Swiftly, too, be coloured! |
Nakazane
Tag Archives: sleeve
Love IX: 2
Left (Tie)
よそにのみ隣の笛を聞き来しに我身の上に音こそ絶えせね
| yoso ni nomi tonari no fue o kikikoshi ni wa ga mi no ue ni ne koso taesene |
Simply a stranger to me is The flute from next door Drifting to my ear, but Upon me fall Nothing but endless cries. |
Lord Ari’ie
1083
Right
夜もすがらよそに聞きつる笛の音の片敷く袖に移りぬる哉
| yomosugara yoso ni kikitsuru fue no ne no katashiku sode ni utsurinuru kana |
All through the night I heard a strange Flute’s strains; On a single spread sleeve Have they come to rest… |
Nobusada
1084
The Right state: the Left’s poem has no faults to mention. The Left state: we wonder about the appropriateness of the sound of a flute coming to rest on sleeves?
In judgement: both poems are about the ‘sounds of a flute’, with the Left having them ‘upon me fall’ (wa ga mi no ue ni) endlessly, and the Right resting ‘on a single spread sleeve’ (katashiku sode ni). Neither has a conception of love which is greater or lesser than the other. I must make this round a tie.
Love VIII: 16
Left
玉章のたえだえになるたぐひかな雲井に雁の見えみ見えずみ
| tamazusa no taedae ni naru tagui kana kumoi ni kari no miemi miezumi |
His jewelled missives Have become intermittent It seems, just like The geese up in the skies, Glimpsed, and then not seen at all… |
Lord Ari’ie
1051
Right (Win)
思かぬる夜はの袂に風ふけて涙の河に千鳥鳴くなり
| omoikanuru yowa no tamoto ni kaze fukete namida no kawa ni chidori nakunari |
Unable to bear my love, At midnight my sleeve is Stirred by the wind, and Upon a river of tears The plovers are crying… |
Nobusada
1052
The Gentlemen of the Right state: we find no faults to mention in the Left’s poem. The Gentlemen of the Left state: we wonder about the reason for emphasising ‘upon a river of tears the plovers’ (namida no kawa ni chidori).
In judgement: the Left on a lover’s letters becoming intermittent, and saying ‘the geese up in the skies, glimpsed, and then not seen at all’ (kumoi ni kari no miemi miezumi) has a charming conception, and elegant diction. The Right, saying ‘at midnight my sleeve is stirred by the wind’ (yowa no tamoto ni kaze fukete) and continuing ‘the plovers are crying’ (chidori nakunari) has a configuration and diction which sounds fine, too. The criticisms of the Gentlemen of the Left are nothing more than ‘a fisherman fishing beneath his pillow’! Although the conception of the Left’s poem is charming, the configuration of the Right’s poem is slightly more notable, so it should win.
Love VII: 16
Left.
つれなしと人をぞさらに思ひ河逢ふ瀬を知らぬ身を恨ても
| tsurenashi to hito o zo sara ni omoigawa ause o shiranu mi o uramitemo |
How cruel She is, I ever feel, My thoughts a river; No rushed meetings between us – I hate myself for that, and yet… |
Lord Kanemune
991
Right (Win).
遥なる程とぞ聞し衣川かた敷く袖の名こそ有けれ
| harukanaru hodo to zo kikishi koromogawa katashiku sode no na koso arikere |
Far, far away Lies, I have heard, The River Robe: For my single spread sleeve How apt that name is! |
Lord Takanobu
992
The Right state: we find the Left’s poem unconvincing. The Left state: the Right’s poem lacks any faults.
In judgement: in the Left’s poem, ‘my thoughts a river’ (omoigawa) is certainly not unconvincing. The latter section of the Right’s poem sounds fine. It should win.
Saishō chūjō kuninobu no ie no uta’awase 15
Left (Win).
恋ひわびて片敷く袖はかへせどもいつかは妹が夢に見えける
| koFiwabite katasiku sode Fa kaFesedomo itu ka Fa imo ga yume ni miekeru |
Tortured with love My single spread sleeve I do reverse, yet When will my darling Appear in my dreams? |
The Holy Teacher 闍梨
[Ryūgen 隆源]
29
Right.
我が心ときぞともなく乱るれど日だに暮るれば恋ひ添はりけり
| wa ga kokoro toki zo tomonaku midaruredo Fi dani kurureba koFisoFarikeri |
My heart With every passing hour Is more distraught, yet Even when the day does dim Love is my companion. |
Bichū 備中
[Minamoto no Nakazane 源仲実]
30
MYS V: 857
遠つ人松浦の川に若鮎釣る妹が手本を我れこそ卷かめ
| topotu pito matura no kapa ni wakayu turu imo ga tamoto wo ware koso makame |
Folk far away On Matsura River Catching sweetfish sprats; My darling girl, upon your sleeve I would rest my head… |
Ōtomo no Tabito
Love V: 26
Left (Win).
都にて馴れにし物をひとり寢の片敷く袖は何かさびしき
| miyako nite narenishi mono o hitori ne no katashiku sode wa nani ka sabishiki |
In the capital I grew accustomed to it, but Sleeping alone With only a single sleeve spread out Is somehow sad… |
Lord Suetsune
891
Right.
妹だにも待つとし聞かば小余綾のいそぐ舟路も嬉しからまし
| imo dani mo matsu to shi kikaba koyurugi no isogu funaji mo ureshikaramashi |
That girl of yours Awaits you – were I to hear that, From Koyurugi’s Rocky shore in haste I’d go, even The sea-lanes filled with joy! |
The Provisional Master of the Empress Household Office.
892
The Right state: the Left’s poem lacks the essence of love on a journey, and even the sense of sorrow seems insufficient. The Left state: the Right’s poem has no particular faults.
In judgement: what do the Right mean by saying the Left ‘lack the essence of love on a journey’? And is it really right that ‘is somehow sad’ (nani ka sabishiki) is insufficient? The poem is composed to give an impression of someone fooling themselves. The Right’s ‘Koyurugi’ is certainly not an expression which I have not come across. However, the Left should win.
Ama no tekora-shū 42
嘆きつつ片敷く袖にくらぶれば清見が関の浪はものかは
| nagekitsutsu katashiku sode ni kurabureba kiyomi ga seki no nami wa mono ka wa |
Ever grieving, My single spread sleeve Is like The barrier at Kiyomi: Washed by waves? |
Fujiwara no Moroji (913-970)
藤原師氏
michishiba no
道芝の露におきゐる人により我が手枕の袖もかわかず
| michishiba no tsuyu ni oki’iru hito ni yori wa ga tamakura no sode mo kawakazu |
The roadside grasses Dewfall On him Make my pillow – His sleeve undrying. |
Izumi Shikibu
Winter II: 23
Left (Win).
埋火のあたりの円居飽かぬ間は夜床の衾よそにこそ見れ
| uzumibi no atari no matoi akanu ma wa yodoko no fusuma yoso ni koso mire |
A charcoal fire-pit, And friendly folk gathered around: While I would not have it end My night time bedding Seems of little point! |
585
Right.
片敷きの袖冴え渡る冬の夜は床に衾の甲斐も無きかな
| katashiki no sode saewataru fuyu no yo wa toko ni fusuma no kai mo naki kana |
Just my single Sleeve is so chill On this winter’s night, The blankets on my bed Seem to do no good at all… |
586
The Gentlemen of the Right state: we wonder about the use of ‘bedding of little point’ (fusuma yoso ni)? The Gentlemen of the Left state: we find no faults in the Right’s poem.
Shunzei’s judgement: Both poems are on ‘bedding’ (fusuma), with the Left saying that it seems of little purpose at a gathering around a charcoal fire-pit, and the Right, that it seems to be thin when the cold comes. So, we go from it doing no good, even if you do have it on, to it being pointless when you are happy and warm. What point are these poems trying to make, I wonder? The Left should win.