竜田姫花の錦の唐衣をいそぐか虫のよるもはたおる
| tatsutahime hana no nishiki no karaginu o isogu ka mushi no yoru mo hata oru |
Princess Tatsuta A brocade of blossom for A Cathay robe: Swiftly that the insects Come, does she weave upon her loom? |
Fujiwara no Takasue
藤原隆季
Monthly Archives: November 2017
KKS VIII: 375
MYS XV: 3714
MYS XV: 3609
MYS XV: 3578
[One of] a number of poems composed on the occasion of an embassy to Silla, exchanged in sadness at parting, or noting emotions on voyage, or ancient poems which matched the location.
武庫の浦の入江の洲鳥羽ぐくもる君を離れて恋に死ぬべし
| muko no ura no irie no sudori pa kugumoru kimi wo panarete kopi ni sinubesi |
At the Bay of Muko Along the inlets seabirds Wrapped in wings – Parted from your embrace, my Lord, I shall die of love. |
MYS IV: 727
[One of] two poems sent by Ōtomo sukune Yakamochi to the Elder Maiden of the House of Sakanoue (a love poem to say that though they had been parted for many years, he hoped they would meet again).
忘れ草我が下紐に付けたれど醜の醜草言にしありけり
| wasuregusa wa ga sitapimo ni tuketaredo siko no sikokusa koto ni shi arikeri |
A forgetful day-lily To my under-belt Is bound, yet This annoying weed Is so in name alone! |
Ōtomo no Yakamochi
大伴家持
MYS X: 1897
Love VII: 28
Left.
われが身や長柄の橋の橋柱恋に朽ちなん名をば残して
| ware ga mi ya nagara no hashi no hashibashira koi ni kuchinan na o ba nokoshite |
Is my body as The broken bridge at Nagara’s Bridge pillars? Eaten away by love Is all they’ll say when I am gone… |
Lord Kanemune
1015
Right (Win).
崩れゆく板田の橋もさもあらばあれ我を恋ふべき妹ならばこそ
| kuzureyuku itada no hashi mo sa mo araba are ware o koubeki imo naraba koso |
Collapsing is The bridge at Itada: Should that be, then Love for me from My darling will do the same! |
The Supernumerary Master of the Empress Household Office
1016
The Right state: clichéd from beginning to end. The Left state: the style of the Right’s poem is unattractive.
In judgement: the second and third lines are certainly old-fashioned. I also cannot call the poem tasteful, because the initial line of it is unattractive. The style of the Right’s poem is not particularly elegant, but the Left is old-fashioned, so the Right wins.
Love VII: 27
Left.
かくこそは長柄の橋も絶えしかど柱ばかりは名殘やはなき
| kaku koso wa nagara no hashi mo taeshikado hashira bakari wa nagori ya wa naki |
And so it is that The bridge at Nagara Has ceased to be, yet Are there not even pillars In remembrance of what’s gone? |
Lord Ari’ie
1013
Right (Win).
今も猶長柄の橋は作りてんつれなき戀は跡だにもなし
| ima mo nao nagara no hashi wa tsukuriten tsurenaki koi wa ato dani mo nashi |
Even now is The bridge at Nagara Being built? Of this cruel love Not even a trace remains… |
Nobusada
1014
The Right state: it is certainly possible to say that the ‘bridge at Nagara’ has ‘rotted’ (kutsu), but there are, we think, no other examples of it ‘ceasing’ (tayu). The Left state: we wonder about the appropriateness of saying ‘love not a trace’ (koi ni ato nashi).
In judgement: both poems refer to ‘the bridge at Nagara’ and, as has been mentioned by the Gentlemen of the Right in their criticism, the Left uses ‘has ceased to be, yet’ (taeshikado); there are many poems using ‘rotted’, because this is what happens to the pillars of bridges. After this bridge ceased to be, the pillars would still be rotting away. If you have the bridge ‘being built’ (tsukuru nari), why would you not then have it ‘ceasing’? That being said, I am only accustomed to hearing ‘bridge pillars’ (hashibashira), and having only ‘pillars’ (hashira) sounds completely lacking in logic. The Right’s poem uses ‘love not a trace’ (koi ato nashi): it is entirely natural for a variety of different things not to leave a trace. The current criticism must be due to there not being a prior example of this usage, but it is particularly difficult to say this about the initial section of the poem. The Right wins.