Left (Win).
戀死なんのちを思へば目にぞたつそのゆへもなき空の煙も
| koishinan nochi o omoeba me ni zo tatsu sono yue mo naki sora no keburi mo |
I shall die of love, and When I think on it What should touch my eyes But, lacking any meaning, Smoke rising to the skies… |
Lord Ari’ie.
951
Right.
戀ひ死なむ後は煙とあがるとも君が方へぞ猶なびくべき
| koishinamu nochi wa kemuri to agaru tomo kimi ga kata e zo nao nabikubeki |
When I have died of love Then, though as smoke I may rise, Still towards you I shall trail! |
Lord Tsune’ie.
952
The Right state: the Left’s poem has no faults. The Left state: we wonder about the use of ‘rise’ (agaru) in the Right’s poem.
In judgement: both poems have ‘die for love’ (koishinan), and there are no particular features of either which warrant a victory or a loss, but ‘touch my eyes’ (me ni tatsu) seems a little finer than the Right’s ‘rise’ (agaru) ‘towards’ (kata e zo).
Left (Tie).
妹が住むとをちの里の煙だになど我方へなびかざるらん
| imo ga sumu tōchi no sato no kemuri dani nado wa ga kata e nabikazaruran |
My darling lives In far distant Tōchi; Even the smoke, Somehow, will not Stream my way… |
Lord Suetsune.
949
Right.
つれなさに絶ずなりなん煙をも我ゆへとやはながめゝしもせん
| tsurenasa ni taezu narinan kemuri o mo ware yue to ya wa nagamemeshi mo sen |
Her cruelty I can endure no more! That the smoke Is for her sake – will she Find that consolation? No, surely not! |
Lord Takanobu.
950
Both Left and Right together state that their opponent’s poem lacks anything unusual.
In judgement: that ‘far distant Tōchi’s smoke’ (tōchi no sato no kemuri) will not stream my way really has no significance. ‘Her cruelty I can endure no more! That the smoke’ (tsurenasa ni taezu narinan kemuri) must be being used to avoid mentioning dying of love as unpropitious, and certainly lacks clarity of expression. This is clearly insufficient. The round ties.
Left (Tie).
早苗より穂にいづるまで守る田をかりにのみこそ人は見えけれ
| sanaFe yori Fo ni iduru made mamoru ta wo kari ni nomi koso Fito Fa miekere | From seedlings Until ripened ears appear, Warding the paddies, Only briefly, then, Can folk be seen! |
Anonymous
13
Right.
秋の田に並みよる稲は山川に水ひきうゑし早苗なりけり
| aki no ta ni nami yoru ine Fa yamagaFa ni midu Fiki’uwesi sanaFe narikeri | In the autumn fields Waves run through the ripening rice; From a mountain stream Drawn up, the waters Seedlings have become… |
Yori’ie
頼家
14
Snipe
Left (Tie)
たれか又暁ごとに夢さめて羽掻く鴫の声を聞くらむ
| tareka mata akatuki goto ni yume samete Fane kaku sigi no kowe wo kikuramu | Who is it that yet With every single dawn Awakens from her dreams, and The wing-beating snipes’ Cries does hear? |
Koma
小馬
17
Right
我ならで誰か聞くらむ暁の羽掻く鴫の数を尽くして
| ware narade tare ka kikuramu akatuki no Fane kaku sigi no kazu wo tukusite | If not I, then Who is it that will hear? With the dawn The snipes’ wing-beats Coming to an end… |
Saemon
左衛門
18
When Lord Kin’yori spent all his time visiting the home of the lady with whom he was currently involved.
ながめつゝ人待つ宵の呼子鳥何方へとか行きかへるらむ
| nagametutu Fito matu yoFi no yobu kotori idukata Fe to ka yukikaFeruramu |
Gazing out Awaiting you all night long, The crying songbirds, Seem to say, “Where to?” As they go back and forth… |
The Mother of the Monk Kankan
寛湛法師母