Left
夏夜のまだもねなくにあけぬれば昨日今日ともおもひまどひぬ
| natsu no yo no mada mo nenaku ni akenureba kinō kyō tomo omoimadoinu | On a summer night, Still sleep has eluded me, When dawn breaks— Is it yet yesterday, or today, I wonder in confusion. |
74
Right
うのはなのさけるかきねは白雲のおりゐるとこそあやまたれけれ
| u no hana no sakeru kakine wa shirakumo no ori’iru to koso ayamatarekere | Deutzia flowers Are blooming by the brushwood fence— Clouds of white Have descended there, I think— How strange… |
75
Left
さかざらむものならなくにさくらばなおもかげにのみまだきみゆらむ
| sakazaramu mono naranaku ni sakurabana nao mo kage ni nomi madaki miyuramu | Wishing not to bloom Will not remain The cherry blossom, but Even so their shape alone Swiftly, I would wish to see! |
Mitsune
3
Right
やまざくらさきぬるときはつねよりもみねのしらくもたちまさりけり
| yamazakura sakinuru toki wa tsune yori mo mine no shirakumo tachimasarikeri | When the mountain cherry Has bloomed, Earlier than usual Clouds of white around the peak Do rise spectacularly! |
Tsurayuki
4[i]
The Left uses ‘wish’[ii] twice; the Right places the mountain cherries at a distance—that make the round a tie.
[i] This poem is included in Gosenshū (I: 118), with the headnote, ‘A poem from Former Emperor Uda’s Poetry Contest’.
[ii] Uda is objecting to Mitsune’s double usage of the auxiliary verb -ramu in his judgement here.
Sent to the place where a lady, who was going somewhere far away, was preparing for departure.
思ひやる心ばかりはさはらじを何へだつらん峰の白雲
| omoFiyaru kokoro bakari Fa saFaradi o nani Fedaturan mine no sirakumo | The longing for you In my heart alone Should be no hindrance, but Why do you seem distant as The white clouds round the peaks? |
Tachibana no Naomoto
橘直幹
Composed for Her Majesty, to say that this year, she had the liberty to bond with the blossoms.
しらくもにまがふさくらのこずゑにてちとせの春をそらにしるかな
| sirakumo ni magaFu sakura no kodue nite titose no Faru wo sora ni siru kana | The clouds, so white Blend with the cherry blossom Treetops— Are a thousand years of springtimes Known in the skies, I wonder! |
Chūnagon, in service to Empress Taikenmon’in
待賢門院中納言
Left
あさかげに我が身はなりぬ白雲のたえてきこえぬ人をこふとて
| asakage ni wa ga mi wa narinu shirakumo no taete kikoenu hito o kou tote | In the morning light I have become A cloud of white that Says, endlessly, that I do love you. |
188
Right
ちかけれど人め人めをもるころは雲井はるけき身とやなりなん
| chikakeredo hitome hitome o moru koro wa kumoi harukeki mi to ya narinan | Close by, they are, yet When against prying, prying eyes I would be on guard, Completely cloudless Could I appear? |
189
Left
足引の山のかけはし冬くればこほりのうへをよきぞかねつる
| ashihiki no yama no kakehashi fuyu kureba kōri no ue o yoki zo kanetsuru | To the leg-wearying Mountain plankways, When the winter comes The ice atop them Is difficult to avoid! |
147
Right
ふゆくれば雪ふりつもる高きみね立つ白雲に見えまがふかな
| fuyu kureba yuki furitsumoru takaki mine tatsu shirakumo ni miemagau kana | When the winter comes The snow fallen, piled high upon The lofty peaks With the rising clouds so white Is easy to confuse! |
148
Left
ちらねどもかねてぞをしき紅葉ばは今はかぎりの色と見つれば
| chiranedomo kanete zo oshiki momijiba wa ima wa kagiri no iro to mitsureba | They have not scattered, yet Truly do I regret, that The scarlet leaves Have now reached the limit of Their hues, it seems, so… |
139
Right
白雲のおりゐる宿とみえつるは降りくる雪のとけぬなりけり
| shirakumo no ori’iru yado to mietsuru wa furikuru yuki no tokenu narikeri | Clouds of white Have descended on my house It seems, so The snow, come falling, Will not melt, at all. |
140
Left (Win).
時のまに消えてたなびく白雲のしばしも人に逢ひ見てしかな
| toki no ma ni kiete tanabiku shirakumo no shibashi mo hito ni aimiteshi kana |
In just a moment They vanish, wisping: The white clouds’ Brief span O, that I could meet her for so long! |
Lord Sada’ie.
919
Right.
あくがるゝ心も空に日數へて雲に宿かる物思ひ哉
| akugaruru kokoro mo sora ni hikazu hete kumo ni yado karu mono’omoi kana |
Wandering from my breast My heart within the skies Has passed the days Taking lodging in clouds The focus of my thoughts… |
The Supernumerary Master of the Empress Household Office.
920
The Right state: we find no faults to mention in the Left’s poem. The Left state: the Right’s poem simply re-states a famous creation by another of the Gentlemen of the Right.
In judgement: ‘taking lodging in clouds’ (kumo ni yado karu) does, indeed, sound most like something I have heard recently. Perhaps it is simply that, having heard a good phrase, the gentleman has reused it. Whatever the facts of the matter, it lacks novelty. The Left’s ‘brief span’ (shibashi mo hito ni) should win.
