nezameshite uki yo o omoi awasureba madoromu yume ni kawarazarikeri
When I awake, with This cruel world my thoughts Occupying, The dream that filled my doze Differed not at all…
Hyōenokami 121
Right (Win)
すみのえのうきにおひたるしをれあしをなみひきたてよかみのめぐみに
suminoe no uki ni oitaru shiore’ashi o nami hikitateyo kami no megumi ni
In Suminoe’s Muddy waters grows, Languishing, a reed: O, waves, lift it upright! To receive the deity’s blessing…
Lord Michichika 122
The poem of the Left appears to have an elegant sequence, saying, ‘This cruel world my thoughts / Occupying’, but the speaker does not appear to be particularly thinking of themselves—they are simply reflecting on the transience of this world and that’s how it is. The poem of the Right begins with ‘In Suminoe’ and then has ‘Muddy waters grows’, linking the particular shore with the content. The Right should win.
maki no ya no shigure no oto ni yume samete miyako koishiki ne ni zo nurenuru
Beneath a roof of cypress boards The sound of showers Wakes me from my dreams, and Longing for the capital I drench myself with weeping.
Chūnagon 55
Right (Win)
たびねするのぢのしばやにおとづれてすぐるはよはのしぐれなりけり
tabinesuru noji no shibaya ni otozurete suguru wa yowa no shigure narikeri
Sleeping on my travels Cross the plains in a brushwood hut A sound comes calling, Passing by at midnight— A shower.
Sokaku 56
The style of the Left’s poem is elegant but, in addition to feeling that there may well be cypress roofs in places other than the capital, the final line is insufficient, I think. The Right’s poem has nothing remarkable about it, but it sounds pleasant. I make it the winner.
When the Minamoto Minister had visited her, but then lately had not come to call, she caught a faint glimpse of him through a hole in the wall of her chamber, and sent him this.
まどろまぬかべにも人を見つるかなまさしからなん春の夜の夢
madoromanu kabe ni mo Fito wo mituru kana masasikaranan Faru no yo no yume
Unable to sleep, Through my wall him I did glimpse! O, how I wish were true My dream this brief spring night…
