When His Excellency, Kintsugu, in response to an imperial command, made a pilgrimage to the Grand Shrine, on the occasion of his return, this was sent to him from among the court ladies attending the Ise Virgin.
うれしさもあはれもいかにこたへまし古郷人に問はれましかば
| ureshisa mo aware mo ika ni kotaemashi furusatobito ni towaremashikaba | Of my joy, and Sadness, too, how I would tell My old friend from home Should he ask of them… |
Anonymous
Round Six
Left (Win)
うれしさはおほつのはまにたつなみのかずもしられぬきみがみよかな
| ureshisa wa ōtsu no hama ni tatsu nami no kazu mo shirarenu kimi ga miyo kana | My joy is Great, as upon Ōtsu Beach Break waves In numbers quite unknown, Such is my Lord’s reign most fair! |
Cell of Fragrant Cloud
67
Right
かすがやまみねのしらがしよろづよをきみにといへばかみもいさめず
| kasugayama mine no shiragashi yorozuyo o kimi ni to ieba kami mo isamezu | Kasuga Mountain has White-barked evergreen oaks upon its peak: ‘Ten thousand generations For my Lord!’—should I say that, The God will surely not refuse! |
Cell of Compassionate Light
68
The poem of the Left’s ‘Great, as upon Ōtsu Beach’ and what follows is something that sounds grievously prosaic. With that said, there are many parts of the poem which are not. What is the poem of the Right’s ‘White-barked evergreen oaks on its peak / Ten thousand generations’ linked with in the remainder of the poem? I wonder what it’s composed about… The Left doesn’t contain any errors, so I still say it wins.
The Left’s poem, as I have said in an earlier round, appears to lack smoothness. Is the poem of the Right’s ‘white-barked evergreen oaks’ a long-standing expression? I can’t seem to recall a prior precedent. ‘The God will surely not refuse’ is vague, too. Is it asking the deity’s favour for the speaker? While I am somewhat hesitant, given my appallingly constricted knowledge, I will, fearfully, say that this is inferior.
Cuckoos
Round One
Left
ほととぎすまきのとばかりまちつれどなかであけぬる夏のしののめ
| hototogisu maki no to bakari machitsuredo nakade akenuru natsu no shinonome | O, cuckoo, Briefly by my door of cedar wood Did I await you, yet No song, at all, brightened This summer edge of dawn. |
Lord Dainagon
15
Right (Win)
ほととぎすなくうれしさをつつめどもそらにはこゑもとまらざりけり
| hototogisu naku ureshisa o tsutsumedomo sora ni wa koe mo tomarazarikeri | At the cuckoo’s Song, my joy To hold fast did I try, yet In the skies, his cry Lingered not. |
Lord Chūnagon
16
The Left’s poem, after careful consideration, has a graceful style. The diction of the Right’s poem is superb, and there is an excess of conception. Reading and reciting these leaves my aged heart at a loss. Thus, they tie.
In the Left’s poem, ‘briefly’ is an expression which means ‘just for a short time’, I think, and thus the sentiments are lacking. Saying ‘brightened…edge of dawn’ sounds as if the poet has only begun waiting at daybreak. One does see, apparently, a number of poems in prior matches where the poet has not heard the cuckoo. Nevertheless, I do wonder about whether this is appropriate, given that poems where the cuckoo has been heard are faultless. The Right’s poem is not that good, but it is poetic. Thus, it has to win.
