A poem from a poetry competition held by Her Majesty, the Empress, during the Kanpyō period.
吹風と谷の水としなかりせば深山がくれの花を見ましや
| Fuku kaze to tani no midu to si nakariseba miyama gakure no Fana wo mimasi ya | The gusting wind and The valley’s waters Were there none, then Hidden in the mountains’ depths These blossoms – would any wish to see them? |
Tsurayuki
Topic unknown.
うぐひすのなく野べごとに来てみればうつろふ花に風ぞ吹ける
| uguFisu no naku nobe goto ni kitemireba uturoFu Fana ni kaze zo fukikeru | The warblers Sing from every field, and When I arrive I see, Faded flowers blown By the gusting wind. |
Anonymous
Topic unknown.
吹風にあつらへつくるものならばこの一本は避きよと言はまし
| Fuku kaze ni aturaFetukuru mono naraba kono Fitomoto Fa yokiyo to iFamasi | Should the gusting wind Take orders, Then, ‘This single spray Avoid!’ – that’s what I would say! |
Anonymous
Composed on returning from an ascent of Mount Hiei.
山たかみ見つつわが来しさくら花風は心にまかすべらなり
| yama takami mitutu wa ga kosi sakurabana kaze Fa kokoro ni makasuberanari | On the mountain’s heights, Did I ever see, when homeward bound, Cherry blossoms, where Now the wind will Do as it wants! |
Tsurayuki
Composed on the scattering of cherry blossoms.
雪とのみふるだにあるをさくら花いかにちれとか風のふく覧
| yuki to nomi Furu dani aru wo sakurabana ika ni tire to ka kaze no Fukuran | Simply as snow Do fall the Cherry blossoms: So why to scatter them Does the wind seem to blow? |
Ōshikōchi no Mitsune
Composed on the scattering of cherry blossoms, while in the guard post for the Crown Prince’s Palace.
春風は花のあたりをよきてふけ心づからやうつろふとみむ
| Farukaze Fa Fana no atari wo yokite Fuke kokorodukara ya uturoFu to mimu | O, winds of Spring, While the blossoms bloom Refrain from blowing! Does their own heartbreak Fade them I would wonder. |
Fujiwara no Yoshikaze
On the moonlight flooding over a ruined place
かくばかり風は吹けども板の間もあはぬは月の影さへぞもる
| kaku bakari kaze Fa Fukedomo ita no ma mo aFanu Fa tuki no kage saFe zo miru | So strongly Blows the wind, yet From between the boards, where They fail to meet, it is the moon’s Light that I do see! |
Izumi Shikibu
和泉式部
Left (Win)
住みなれし人はこずゑに絶えはてて琴の音にのみ通ふ松風
| suminareshi hito wa kozue ni taehatete koto no ne ni nomi kayou matsukaze |
Accustomed to his being here, Now, he comes not and from the treetops All that endures Are my zither’s strains, Blending with the pines. |
Lord Ari’ie
1103
Right
聞かじただつれなき人の琴の音にいとはず通ふ松の風をば
| kikaji tada tsurenaki hito no koto no ne ni itowazu kayou matsu no kaze o ba |
I will listen no more! To that cruel man’s Zither strains Heedlessly blending With the wind from off the pines… |
Nobusada
1104
The Right state: it sounds as if the man is enduring on the treetops. The Left state: ‘I will listen no more!’ (kikaji tada) is extremely coarse.
In judgement: while it may sound as if the man is enduring on the treetops in the Left’s poem, this is no more than a standard use of metaphorical expression, and the configuration of ‘accustomed to his being here, now, he comes not and from the treetops’ (suminareshi hito wa kozue ni) sounds fine, with the latter part of the poem also being elegant. The initial line of the Right’s poem has a conception of closing up the ears to block one’s auditory sense, which seems excessive. Clearly, the Left’s ‘my zither’s strains’ (koto no ne ni nomi) must win.
Left
あはぬまは琴柱も知らずひく琴の聞きにくきまで音にや立ててむ
| awanu ma wa kotoji mo shirazu hiku kono no kikinikuki made ne ni ya tatetemu |
Yet untuned, and Ignorant of where to place the bridge, Playing such a zither is Hard to hear, as Are my constant sobs, perhaps… |
Lord Kanemune
1097
Right (Win)
松風も琴のしらべに通ふなりわがひとり寝ぞ逢ふよしもなき
| matsukaze mo koto no shirabe ni kayou nari wa ga hitorine zo au yoshi mo naki |
The wind in the pines, as Zithers’ harmony Does blend; Yet I am sleeping solo, with No cause to meet at all… |
Lord Tsune’ie
1098
The Right state: the Left’s poem is preposterous. The Left state: the Right’s poem has no faults to mention.
In judgement: the Left’s poem seems to be aping the style of the Left in the previous round. As for the Right’s poem, although ‘zithers’ harmony’ (koto no shirabe) sounds modern, it is in a standard style. It should win.
Left
恋妻はあらぬしらべしらべの琴の緒かあふことかたき音のみ絶えせぬ
| koizuma wa aranu shirabe no koto no o ka au koto kataki ne nomi taesenu |
My beloved wife: Is it that untuned are Our zithers’ strings? So there is no harmony, and Only my sobs are ceaseless… |
Lord Suetsune
1095
Right (Win)
松風に通ふと聞きし琴の音も物思ふ時は身にぞしみける
| matsukaze ni kayou to kikishi koto no ne mo mono’omou toki wa mi ni zo shimikeru |
The wind in the pines Resembles, I had heard, A zither’s strains that, too, When sunk in gloomy thought Dye one so deeply… |
Jakuren
1096
The Right state: saying ‘our zithers’ strings?’ (koto no o ka) is unsatisfactory. The Left state: if one is not depressed, would one not be deeply affected?
In judgement: the Left certainly sounds as if something is out of tune! The Right’s poem says that on hearing the wind pass through the pine trees, one would be affected. It sounds by no means distant from the topic. Thus, the Right wins.