The Iwashimizu Special Festival (石清水臨時祭)
たつほどのかさねかはらけなかりせばおぼえて淀の渡せましや
| tatsu hodo no kasane kawarake nakariseba oboete yodo no watarisemashi ya | A tall Pile of wine-cups Is lacking, so Recalling them, Yodo Would I traverse! |
Toshiyori
Tag Archives: wine cups
Spring III: 18
Left (Win).
桃の花枝さしかはす陰なれば浪にまかせんけふのさか月
| momo no hana eda sashikawasu kage nareba nami ni makasen kyō no sakazuki |
Peach blossoms Thrust from the bough Spreading shade, so To the waves I shall entrust My wine-cup today. |
155
Right.
さか月の流れとゝもに匂らしけふの花吹く春の山風
| sakazuki no nagare totomo ni niourashi kyō no hana fuku haru no yamakaze |
With the wine-cups’ Drift Scent seems to come: Blowing through the blossoms today is The mountains’ breath of spring. |
156
The Right state that it is ‘difficult to find any imperfections in the Left’s poem,’ while the Left say that the Right’s ‘blowing through the blossoms’ (hana fuku) is ‘grating on the ear.’ (They probably make this comment because hana fuku sounded too close to the verb hanafuku which had the rather prosaic meaning of ‘sneeze’!)
Shunzei’s judgement is, ‘The Left have stated that the Right’s hana fuku grates on the ear, but it would seem to be following the spirit of the lines:
Gently blows the breeze in early dawn;
Wordless,
A mouth starts to smile.
However, as has been said, there are no imperfections in the Left’s poem, as so it should win.’ (According to the commentators, ‘a wordless mouth’ was a metaphor used for blossom, although the source of the lines Shunzei quotes is now obscure.)
Spring III: 17
Left (Win).
散る花をけふのまとゐの光にて浪間にめぐる春のさか月
| chiru hana o kyō no matoi no hikari nite namima ni meguru haru no sakazuki |
Falling blossoms To the gathering today Add lustre, Circling between the waves go The wine-cups of spring. |
153
Right.
岩間より流れてくだす盃に花の色さへ浮ぶけふかな
| iwama yori nagarete kudasu sakazuki ni hana no iro sae ukabu kyō kana |
From the rock-clefts Float down Cups of wine – Even the blossoms’ hues Seem adrift upon them, today… |
154
The Right team state that the Left’s poem, ‘seems good,’ while the Left state that the Right’s combination of nagarete (‘flow’) and kudasu (‘send down’) is ‘inharmonious and would be better reversed.’ (In his poem, Takanobu has combined an intransitive verb nagaru with a transitive one, kudasu, and the Left are complaining that it’s odd to have something flowing (on its own) and then being sent down (by someone), so it would have been better phrased as kudashite nagaru, ‘sent down and then flowed’.)
Shunzei comments that, ‘Both poems have superlative elements. The Right’s nagaretekudasu is not entirely inharmonious, but the Left’s “circling between the waves go the wine-cups of spring” is particularly fine. Thus, I award it victory.’
Spring III: 16
Left (Tie).
流れ來て岩間をくだる盃はさして誰にと見えずも有るかな
| nagarekite iwama o kudaru sakazuki wa sashite tare ni to miezu mo aru kana |
Drifting down Through the rock clefts, come The winecups, Proffered by no one, Or so it seems… |
151
Right (Tie).
岩間分け流れもやらぬさかづきは心ざせどもかひなかりけり
| iwama wake nagare mo yaranu sakaduki wa kokorozasedomo kainakarikeri |
Through the rock clefts Unable to flow are The winecups: I would offer one, yet ‘Tis no use, at all. |
152
Yet again, neither team has anything to say about the other’s poem.
Shunzei says, ‘Both Left and Right have composed on “rock cleft wine cups”, with a concept of “proffered to someone” (sashite tare ni) or “I would proffer, yet” (kokorozasedomo): these are truly identical in quality. The round must tie.’
Spring III: 15
Left.
けふといへば岩間によどむ盃を待たぬ空まで花に酔ふらん
| kyō to ieba iwama ni yodomu sakazuki o matanu sora made hana ni youran |
Talking of today, Caught in clefts between the rocks, yet The wine cups’ Not awaiting, even the skies seem Drunk on blossom. |
149
Right (Win).
花の色は入日を殘す木のもとに春も暮れゆく三日月の空
| hana no iro wa irihi o nokosu ki no moto ni haru mo kureyuki mika tsuki no sora |
The blossoms’ hues Have caught the setting sun, while Beneath the trees Springtime dusk draws on, A crescent moon within the sky. |
150
Both teams have no particular comments to make about the other’s poem.
Shunzei remarks, ‘Both poems are of similar quality, as has been mentioned by the gentlemen present, however, the Left’s poem is clearly in the spirit of “With blossom the heavens are drunk, in the season of plentiful peaches.” (A well known Chinese poem composed by Sugawara no Michzane.) But the Right’s “Springtime dusk draws on, a crescent moon” captures the light better, I think. Thus, it seems to be the winner.’
Spring III: 14
Left (Win).
唐人の跡を伝ふるさかづきの浪にしたがふけふも來にけり
| karahito no ato o tsutauru sakazuki no nami ni shitagau kyō mo kininkeri |
How Cathay folk Did long ago, ‘tis told; With wine cups, Trailing ‘long the waves Has this day come. |
147
Right.
植へをきし賤が心は桃の花弥生のけふぞ見るべかりける
| ueokishi shizu ga kokoro wa momo no hana yayoi no kyō zo mirubekarikeru |
‘Twas planted, long ago, and now The peasants’ hearts, Peach blossom On this Third Month day Must see. |
148
Both teams say they have no criticisms, as before.
Shunzei, however, says, ‘The Left’s poem, as in the last round, draws on an ancient example of the Waterside Poetry Party. The Right’s, “The peasants’ hearts, on this Third Month day must see”, however, is extremely difficult to grasp, and certainly prosaic, is it not? The Left must win.’
Spring III: 13
Left (Tie).
さかづきの流れにつけて唐人の船乘りすなるけふをしぞ思
| sakazuki no nagare ni tsukete karahito no fune norisu naru kyō o shi zo omou |
As the wine cups Flow, Cathay folk, Boarding boats This day, comes to my mind. |
145
Right (Tie).
ゆく水に浮ぶる花のさか月や流れての代のためしなるらん
| yuku mizu ni ukaburu hana no sakazuki ya nagarete no yo no tameshi naruran |
Upon the flowing waters Floating flowers of Wine cups! In times gone by, Was there ever such a thing? |
The Provisional Master of the Empress’ Household Office.
146
Both Left and Right say they have no criticisms to make this round.
Shunzei says, ‘The Left’s poem recalls an ancient Chinese festival, while the Right’s mentions one from our own Court. In terms style and form, neither poem has any particular problems. The round must tie.’
Spring I: 5
Left (Tie).
むつき立けふのまとゐや百敷の豊明のはじめなるらん
| mutsuki tatsu kyô no matoi ya momoshiki no toyo no akari no hajimenaruran |
On the year’s turn Today, with a congenial gathering At the hundredfold palace, Do the banquets – rubicund faces all – Perhaps, begin? |
9
Right (Tie).
百敷や袖を連ぬる盃にゑひをすゝむる春の初風
| momoshiki ya sode o tsuranuru sakazuki ni ei o susumuru haru no hatsukaze |
At the hundredfold palace, Arrayed sleeves and Wine cups are Pressed to a pleasant drunkenness by The first breeze of spring. |
10
The Right state that ‘on the year’s turn’ (mutsuki tatsu) is an expression they ‘are not accustomed to hearing’ [kikinarezu oboyu]. The Left, in response, say that this expression occurs in the Man’yōshū. The Right then state that ‘rubicund faces all’ (toyo no akari) is unclear. The Left reply that the various Imperial seasonal banquets are referred to as such in Imperial proclamations. The Left have no criticisms of the Right’s poem.
Shunzei’s judgement: The gentlemen of the Right have stated that mutsuki tatsu is something particularly worthy of criticism, but I do not feel this to be the case at all [makoto ni oboehaberazu]. I definitely recall seeing poems containing mutsuki tatsu in the Man’yōshū. However, even if something occurs in the Man’yōshū, I do not feel either Left or Right should cite it in support [sayū naku shōko to subeshi to mo oboehaberazu]. Someone now dead once told me that we should pick the tasteful sections of the Man’yōshū [man’yōshū wa yūnaru koto o toru beki]. Meaning that in that anthology there are many poems which sound unpleasant [kikinikuki], such as ‘Dig it from Lord Yamada’s nose!‘ and ‘Drinking wine, weeping drunkenly‘ which it would be difficult to select now. To the time of that anthology, they did not avoid poetic faults [uta no yamai]. Therefore, such poems should definitely not be used as sources for poetry competitions [kanarazushimo uta’awase no toki wa rei to nasubekarazaru]. This is not the case with the poem in question, but it needs to be said. Moreover, in Imperial Proclamations,toyo no akari (豊明) appears to be written 豊楽. Both Left and Right have already given their opinions on the poem’s overall conception [fūtei]. In terms of its sense, in one area alone is it surprising: instead of ‘custom’ (narai wa) which is normal in poetry in these situations, it uses ‘congenial gathering’ (matoi), which evokes the plucking of a catalpa bow; when one uses toyo no akari, one would normally then continue with expressions such as “cloudless world” (kumori naki yo ). In the present poem, however, there is nothing for it to connect to. The Right’s poem simply concludes ‘first breeze of spring’ (haru no hatsukaze), and while one can hear the New Year in this, the scenery of ‘Pressed to a pleasant drunkenness’ (ei o susumuru) is more that of the Twisting Waters banquet (gokusui no en) or of composition on ‘peach blossom skies‘. In sum, then, the poem fails to sound elegant in style [uta no tei mo yū ni shi mo kikoehaberazarubeshi]. The Left’s matoi, too, has no links within the poem. Neither is worthy of a win I feel. Thus, this round is, again, a tie.