Left – Dwarf bamboo[i]
たまとのみつゆのみゆるはささがにのいとををにしてぬけばなりけり
| tama to nomi tsuyu no miyuru wa sasagani no ito o o ni shite nukeba narikeri | Simply as jewels Do the dewdrops seem, when Making the tiny crab—the spider’s Web their thread, They are strung upon it… |
4
Right
(Missing)
[i] The topic of this poem is given as ‘Dew’ (Tsuyu 露) in the other text of the match, although the poem is identical. ‘Spider’ (sasgani) contains sasa (‘dwarf bamboo’)/
Composed when I had instructed various people to compose on ‘In the autumn fields / Drop whitened dewdrops: / Can they be jewels’.[i]
ささがにの玉ぬくいとのををよわみ風にみだれて露ぞこぼるる
| sasagani no tama nuku ito no o o yowami kaze ni midarete tsuyu zo koboruru | A tiny crab, the spider Strings gems on her web, Threads so fragile, that Confused by the wind The dewdrops scatter. |
[i] A reference to: Composed at a poetry competition at Prince Koresada’s house. 秋ののにおくしらつゆは玉なれやつらぬきかくるくものいとすぢ aki no no ni / oku shiratsuyu wa / tama nare ya / tsuranukikakuru / kumo no itosuji ‘In the autumn fields / Drop whitened dewdrops: / Can they be jewels, / Pierced through and strung / On spider webs?’ Fun’ya no Asayasu (KKS IV: 225). Sanetomo has used the initial part of the Kokinshū poem as the topic for composition.
Later, on the second day of the Fifth Month, it appears that everyone, quite losing their composure, decorated their replies extravagantly and even painted pictures beneath them; later, on the seventh day of the same month, because His Majesty sent instructions to the ladies who had been present to compose love poems and attend him, on that day they attended him to present their poems.
ほととぎす待つにつけてもささがにのいづれの世にかしる時ぞ思ふ
| hototogisu matsu ni tsukete mo sasagani no izure no yo ni ka shiru toki zo omou | A cuckoo I do await, and yet The tiny crab— On which night is it?— Will know the time, I hope! |
Echizen
21
しるし有りてこぬよもあれや時鳥中中かけしくものふるまひ
| shirushi arite konu yo mo are ya hototogisu nakanaka kakeshi kumo no furumai | Should there be a sign, Would there really be a night he failed to come, That cuckoo? Truly to be trusted was The spider’s spinning… |
The Major Counsellor
22
