Topic unknown.
岩根踏み重なる山はなけれども逢はぬ日数を恋や渡らん
| iFane Fumi kasanaru yama Fa nakeredomo aFanu Fi kazu wo koFi ya wataran |
Crag trodden Layered mountains Are there none, yet Over the number of days we meet not I wonder, will our love span? |
The Elder Maiden of Sakanoue
坂上郎女
Composed as a poem on blossom.
桜咲く比良の山風吹くままに花になりゆく志賀の浦浪
| sakura saku Fira no yamakaze Fuku mama ni Fana ni nariyuku siga no uranami |
Cherries flower on Hira Mountain while Breezes blow All turned to blossom are The waves on Shiga’s shore. |
Middle Captain of the Inner Palace Guards, Left Division, [Fujiwara no] Yoshitsune
左近中将良経
Composed as a poem on haze.
見渡せばそこと印の杉もなし霞のうちや三輪の山本
| miwataseba soko to sirusi no sugi mo nasi kasumi no uti ya miwa no yamamoto |
When I gaze across As sentinels there No cedars stand; Are you within the haze, O, Miwa Mountain’s foot? |
Captain of the Middle Palace Guards, Left Division, [Fujiwara no] Takafusa
左兵衛督隆房
比叡の山その大嶽は隠れねど猶水のみは流れてぞ降る
| Fie no yama sono oFotake Fa kakurene to naFo midu nomi Fa nagarete zo Furu |
Hie Mountain: Its might peak Is not concealed, and yet, And yet, waters alone Flow ever downwards… |
Minamoto no Toshiyori
源俊頼
奥山の草隠れなる畑つ守知られぬ恋に病ふ頃かな
| okuyama no kusagakurenaru hatatsumori shirarenu koi ni yamau koro kana |
Deep within the mountains Hidden among the grasses, A field warden With unknown love is Stricken sick these days! |
Minamoto no Toshiyori
源俊頼
Sent to a lady at the beginning.
木葉散る山の下水埋もれて流れもやらぬ物をこそ思へ
| ko no Fa tiru yama no sitamidu udumorete nagare mo yaranu mono wo koso omoFe |
Leaves fall from the trees, and On the mountain, streams Buried Cease their flow, As all my thoughts are set on you… |
Eikaku
叡覚
君さらば山にかへりて冬毎に雪踏み分けておりよとぞ思ふ
| kimi saraba yama ni kaFerite Fuyugoto ni yuki Fumiwakete oriyo to zo omoFu |
If you should Return to the mountains, then With every winter Forge through the snow And descend, I beg you! |
Left (Tie).
足引の山路の秋になる袖はうつろふ人のあらしなりけり
| ashihiki no yamaji no aki ni naru sode wa utsurou hito no arashi narikeri |
Leg wearying Mountain trails in autumn Have my sleeves become, For she fades from my life, as A departing storm… |
Lord Sada’ie.
971
Right.
この世には吉野の山の奧にだにありとはつらき人に知られじ
| kono yo ni wa yoshino no yama no oku ni dani ari to wa tsuraki hito ni shirareji |
Within this world, were I In the Yoshino mountains’ Heart, even so That cruel One would know it not! |
Jakuren.
972
The Right state: the Left’s poem does not refer to a specific mountain – we wonder whether this is acceptable? In addition, ‘in autumn have my sleeves’ (aki ni naru sode) and ‘she…as a storm’ (hito no arashi) is difficult to understand. The Left state: the Right’s poem has no faults to indicate.
In judgement: in connection with the criticism made of the Left’s poem, I do not feel that it is always essential to refer to a specific mountain. The other matters are, indeed, difficult to understand. The underlying sense of the Right’s poem seems overly pretentious. It is reminiscent of the tales of Boyi and Shuqi, or of Jie Zhitui, and Mount Shouyang and Mount Mian. Really, it does put me in mind of the Four White-Headed Recluses of Mount Shang, where it says, ‘They emerged due to the plans of Zhang Liang, made for Huidi, who said, “Though I may lie down with the greybeards, enjoying Mount Shang myself, all, in the end, are people under Zhang Liang.”’ It is extremely difficult, in the end, to make these sentiments relevant to our own land. Thus, I find it inappropriate to accept the content of the Right’s poem. The Left’s poem has its faults, too, so cursorily, I make this round a tie.
時雨つつ吹く山風に椎柴の枝はなひけど色は変らず
| shiguretsutsu fuku yama kaze ni shiishiba no eda wa nabikedo iro wa kawarazu |
Showers mixed with Gusting mountain winds The brushwood Branches bend down yet They show no change of hue. |
Minamoto no Kanemasa
源兼昌
いつとなく葉がへぬ山の椎柴に人の心をなすよしもがな
| itsu to naku hagaenu yama no shiishiba ni hito no kokoro o nasu yoshi mogana |
If only the ever Unchanging leaves on the mountain Brushwood Her heart could Somehow become! |
Minamoto no Nakazane
源仲実