Left
うちさめてこひしきひとをおもふよはわがたましひもゆきてつげなん
| uchisamete koishiki hito o omou yo wa wa ga tamashii mo yukite tsugenan | Awaking when My darling girl Filled my thoughts all night, Even my soul Has gone to let her know! |
15
Right
よはにおきてこひぞわびぬるはるのよはゆめにみえつるひとのなければ
| yowa ni okite koi zo wabinuru haru no yo wa yume ni mietsuru hito no nakereba | Arising at midnight, and Suffering love’s fire On a night in spring, For in my dreams I saw My girl, though she’s not here now… |
16
The middle of spring.[i]
Left
まづ立ちて過ぎにし春はかひもなしとまるは花ものどけからなむ
| mazu tachite suginishi haru wa kai mo nashi tomaru wa hana mo nodokekaranamu | For it first to have arisen and Then departed—to such a spring There is no point; If it stayed then the blossom, too, Might linger on. |
5
Right
さくら花にほふさかりをみるときは心も春のなかにこそいれ
| sakurabana niou sakari o miru toki wa kokoro mo haru no naka ni koso ire | Cherry blossom: When in glowing profusion I see, then My soul, too, spring’s Heart does enter! |
6
[i] Naka no haru 仲の春
Round Seven
Left (Win)
萩がはな分けゆく程は古郷へかへらぬ人もにしきをぞきる
| hagi ga hana wakeyuku hodo wa furusato e kaeranu hito mo nishiki o zo kiru | When through the bush-clover blooms He forges his way, To his ancient home Never to return—that man, too, Wears a fine brocade! |
Minamoto no Arifusa, Minor Captain in the Inner Palace Guards, Right Division
13
Right
声たてて鳴くむしよりも女郎花いはぬ色こそ身にはしみけれ
| koe tatete naku mushi yori mo ominaeshi iwanu iro koso mi ni wa shimikere | They lift their songs in Plaintive cries, but far more than the insects ‘Tis the maidenflower’s Wordless hue that truly Pierce my soul! |
Junior Assistant Minister of Central Affairs Sadanaga
14
The Left is well-composed, but what is the Right’s ‘wordless hue’? Are we supposed to imagine that the expression means ‘silent yellow’? This is difficult to grasp, isn’t it. Whatever way you look at it, the Left seems to win.
Topic unknown.
まくらよりまたしる人もなき恋をなみだせきあへずもらしつるかな
| makura yori mata siru Fito mo naki koFi wo namida seki aFezu morasituru kana | Other than my pillow Still not a soul should know Of my love, but My tears, ever undammed, Have leaked out! |
Taira no Sadafun
Left
みよりまたおもひはことになつむしのなりてもまたもたのみけるかな
| mi yori mata omoi wa koto ni natsumushi no narite mo mata mo tanomikeru kana | From my flesh, once more Passion’s flame, especially, into A firefly Has made me still— On that you can rely! |
19
Right
なつむしのわがたましひにみをかへてこころごころにこがれけるかな
| natsumushi no wa ga tamashii ni mi o kaete kokoro gokoro ni kogarekeru kana | Into a firefly Soul has My flesh transformed— Every corner of my heart Is smouldering! |
20
A poem on Mount Kagu by Kamo no Taruhito.
天之芳来山 霞立 春尓至婆 松風尓 池浪立而 櫻花 木乃晩茂尓 奥邊波 鴨妻喚 邊津方尓 味村左和伎 百礒城之 大宮人乃 退出而 遊船尓波 梶棹毛 無而不樂毛 己具人奈四二
天降りつく 天の香具山 霞立つ 春に至れば 松風に 池波立ちて 桜花 木の暗茂に 沖辺には 鴨妻呼ばひ 辺つ辺に あぢ群騒き ももしきの 大宮人の 退り出て 遊ぶ船には 楫棹も なくて寂しも 漕ぐ人なしに
| amorituku ame no kaguyama kiri tatu paru ni itareba matukaze ni ikenami tatite sakurabana ko no kuresige ni okipe ni pa kamo tuma yobapi petupe ni adi murasawagi momosiki no opomiyabito no makaridete asobu pune ni pa kadisawo mo nakute sabusi mo kogu pito nasi ni | Descended from heaven is Sacred Mount Kagu where Mists arise When the spring does come, The wind through the pines Raises waves from pond waters, and Cherry blossom’s Profusion shades the trees, while Out in the offing, Ducks call for a mate and On the shore Teals flock noisily; Hundredfold, The palace folk were wont to Travel out On pleasure boats, but Oars and poles Are there none—so sad— For there’s not a soul to row them… |
Left
みよし野の山に咲きたるさくら花雪かとのみぞあやまたれける
| miyoshino no yama ni sakitaru sakurabana yuki ka to nomi zo ayamatarekeru | In Yoshino In the mountains, the flowering Cherry blossoms: Simply for snow I did mistake them! |
13[1]
Right
年のうちはみな春ながらはてななむ花を見てだに心やるべく
| toshi no uchi wa mina haru nagara hate na namu hana o mite dani kokoro yarubeku | Within the year All is springtime, but I would that it end, for Even seeing blossoms Seems to exhaust my soul… |
14[2]
[1] A minor variant of this poem appears in Kokinshū (I: 60), attributed to Ki no Tomonori.
[2] A variant of this poem appears in Shūishū (I: 75) with the headnote ‘Topic unknown’: 年の内はみな春ながらくれななん花見てだにもうきよすぐさん toshi no uchi wa / mina haru nagara / kure na nan / hana mite dani mo / ukiyo sugusan ‘Within the year / All is springtime, but / I would it reach its eve, for / Even seeing blossoms / Makes this fleeting world pass by.’
A poem from the Poetry Contest held by the Empress Dowager during the Reign of the Kanpyō Emperor.
恋しきに侘びてたましひまどひなば空しきからの名にやのこらむ
| koFisiki ni wabite tamasiFi madoFinaba munasiki kara no na ni ya nokoramu | If, for love of you and Suffering, my soul Should wander in confusion, As an empty husk— Would that be my reputation? |
Anonymous
