When Her Majesty was paying a visit to Yoshino, Prince Yuge sent this poem to Princess Nukata.
いにしへに恋ふる鳥かも弓絃葉の御井の上より鳴き渡り行く
| inisipe ni kopuru tori kamo yudurupa no miwi no upe yori nakiwatariyuku | In bygone days Was this the bird we did love so? That now over Yuzuruha’s Sacred springs Crosses in song… |
Prince Yuge
Left (Win)
鳥の音は戀しき人の何なれや逢夜はいとひ逢はぬ夜は待つ
| tori no ne wa koishiki hito no nani nare ya auyo wa itoi awanu yo wa matsu |
The cock’s crow: For my darling, What might it mean? Hated on nights we meet, and Longed for when we do not… |
Lord Kanemune
1049
Right
いかにして空とる程もはし鷹のしばしもこひに身を休むらん
| ika ni shite sora toru hodo mo hashitaka no shibashi mo koi ni mi o yasumuran |
Why, when Hunting in the skies, does The sparrowhawk Briefly in the trees Take his ease? |
Ietaka
1050
The Gentlemen of the Right state: ‘What might it mean?’ (nani nare ya) fails to match. Ending ‘longed for’ (matsu) is overly definite. The Gentlemen of the Left state: what has hunting in the skies got to do with love?
In judgement: it has been said that ‘cock’s crow’ (tori no ne) and ‘what might it mean’ fail to match. Then there is also ‘definite’ (futsugiri). These are nothing but expressions which I do not know and find difficult to understand. ‘The sparrowhawk hunting in the skies’ (hashitaka no sora toru hodo) and ‘take his ease in the trees’ (koi ni yasumuran) both have only a faint conception of love, and I wonder about alluding to hawking. The Left failing to match, too, may be a term used in coursing for deer. Well, even if the deer do not match, as it has the conception of love, the Left should win.
Left
時しもあれ空飛ぶ鳥の一聲も思ふ方より來てや鳴らん
| toki shi mo are sora tobu tori no hitogoe mo omou kata yori kite ya naruran |
Now, when I am wondering, A bird, soaring through the skies, Gives a single call; From whence I love Does it come, I wonder? |
A Servant Girl
1045
Right (Win)
天の戸を明けぬと告ぐる鳥の音も獨寢る夜はさもあらばあれ
| ama no to o akenu to tsuguru tori no ne mo hitori neru yo wa sa mo araba are |
“The gates of Heaven Are open!” announces A cock’s crow, though On a night spent sleeping alone, It matters not at all… |
The Supernumerary Master of the Empress Household Office
1046
The Right state: what gives rise to the idea in the Left’s poem? The Gentlemen of the Left state: there are no faults we can find.
In judgement: what sort of bird is it that ‘soaring through the skies gives a single call’ (sora tobu tori no hitogoe)? I wonder if there is a suitable source for this? That being said, I doubt the Gentlemen of the Right’s point is pertinent. It has been stated that the Right’s poem lacks any faults. It must win.
A poem by Her Majesty, the Dowager Empress.
鯨魚取り 近江の海を 沖放けて 漕ぎ来る船 辺付きて 漕ぎ来る船 沖つ櫂 いたくな撥ねそ 辺つ櫂 いたくな撥ねそ 若草の 夫の 思ふ鳥立つ
| isana tori opomi no umi wo oki sakete kogikitaru pune pe tu kite kogikuru pune oki tu kai itaku na pane so pe tu kai itaku na pane so wakakusa no tuma no omopu tori tatu |
In the whale-hunting Sea of Ōmi From far off in the offing Boats come rowing; Nearing the shore, Boats come rowing; Off in the offing, oars Beat not so hard! By the shore, oars Beat not so hard! A fresh blade of grass – My husband’s Beloved birds you’ll start to flight! |
Yamato Hime no Ōkimi
倭皇后
Left.
夜を重ね心の関のかたきかなわが音は鳥の空音ならねば
| yo o kasane kokoro no seki no kataki kana wa ga ne wa tori no sorane naraneba |
Night upon night The barriers upon your heart Stand firm, indeed! For the sounds I make are no cock’s False crow! |
Lord Ari’ie
1001
Right (Win).
人知れぬうらみにあまる浪の上を抑ふる袖や須磨の関守
| hito shirenu urami ni amaru nami no ue o osauru sode ya suma no sekimori |
She cannot know The prospect of my despair; Dashed upon the waves Are my sleeves Barrier Wardens at Suma? |
Jakuren
1002
The Right state: why specifically refer to a ‘false crow’ (sorane)? This makes it sound as if the barrier would not be opened for a real bird’s cry. In response, the Left: as there is the precedent of a barrier being opened in response to a false crow, the poem draws upon this to refer to ‘the sounds I make’ (wa ga ne) – we fail to see why this is problematic. The Left state: we find no faults in need of identification in the Right’s poem.
In judgement: it seems difficult to distinguish between ‘the sounds I make’ and the ‘false crow’ in the Left’s poem, and the Right’s ‘dashed upon the waves are my sleeves’ (osauru sode) is pleasant. Thus, the Right wins.