Round Seven
Cherry
Left (Win)
からくにの虎伏すのべににほふとも花の下にはねてぞ帰らん
karakuni no
tora fusu nobe ni
niou tomo
hana no shita ni wa
nete zo kaeran | Even in the land of Cathay, where
Tigers lie among the meadows—
Should they shine there, then
Beneath the blossoms
Would I sleep and then head home. |
Lord Kiyosuke
13
Right
わぎもこがはこねの山のいと桜むすびおきたる花かとぞみる
wagimoko ga
hakone no yama no
itozakura
musubiokitaru
hana ka to zo miru | As my darling’s treasured
Box is Hakone Mountain, with
Weeping cherries
Bound, or
So the blossoms do appear to me. |
Kenshō
14
Neither of these are bad, but because for the moment it has a stronger conception of affection for the blossom, the Left is superior.
Composed on the end of spring.
はるふかみあらしもいたく吹くやどはちりのこるべき花もなきかな
haru fukami
arashi mo itaku
fuku yado wa
chirinokorubeki
hana mo naki kana | In the depths of spring, when
The storm winds savagely
Blow upon my house,
Not even a scattered remnant
Of blossom will there be! |
散りのこるきしの山吹春ふかみこの一枝をあはれといはなん
chirinokoru
kishi no yamabuki
haru fukami
kono hito eda o
aware to iwanan | A scattered remnant of
Kerria from the bank
In the depths of spring, that
This single stem arouses
Pity, I would have you say. |
On picking some kerria and thinking of sending it to someone.
おのづからあはれともみよ春ふかみちりのこる岸の山吹のはな
onozukara
aware tomo miyo
haru fukami
chiri nokoru kishi no
yamabuki no hana | ‘Tis natural that
With pity would you behold them!
In the depths of spring
The scattered remnants on the bank of
Kerria blossom. |
Composed while watching kerria being blown by the wind.
わが心いかにせよとか山吹のうつろふ花のあらしたつらん
wa ga kokoro
ika ni seyo to ka
yamabuki no
utsurou hana no
arashi tatsuran | My heart,
O, what is it to do?
For upon the kerria’s
Fading blossom
The storm wind would descend… |
Composed on kerria on a day when it was raining.
春雨のつゆのやどりを吹く風にこぼれてにほふやまぶきの花
harusame no
tsuyu no yadori o
fuku kaze ni
koborete niou
yamabuki no hana | A spring shower of
Dewdrops have found lodging:
Blown by the wind,
They spill, scented by
The kerria blossom. |
Round Six
Left (Win)
梅の花をりてかざせば二月の雪は衣におつるなりけり
ume no hana
orite kazaseba
kisaragi no
yuki wa koromo ni
otsuru narikeri | When plum blossom
I pluck and wear within my hair,
Second Month
Snows upon my robe
Do fall! |
Masashige
11
Right
時ならぬ卯花ともやおもはましかきねの梅のかをらざりせば
toki naranu
u no hana tomo ya
omowamashi
kakine no ume no
ka orazariseba | Unseasonal
Deutzia blooms might
I think them?
Did the plum by my lattice fence
Fail to scent the air… |
Atsuyori
12
The Left is not lacking in conception.
Round Five
Left (Tie)
にほふ香はいづれの梅もかはらねど色なる花ぞわきて身にしむ
niou ka wa
izure no ume mo
kawaranedo \
iro naru hana zo
wakite mi ni shimu | The fragrant scent of
Any plum
Varies not, yet
Those with scarlet hues
Especially pierce my breast! |
Iemoto
9
Right
梅の花かをばたもとにしむれども色をばえこそうつさざりけれ
ume no hana
ka oba tamoto ni
shimuredomo
iro oba e koso
utsusazarikeri | The plum blossoms’
Scent into my sleeves
Has sunk, yet
Their hues, of all things,
Have shifted not! |
Kūnin
10
I wish I could say that the Left is superior, but that is not the case, so a tie.
Round Four
Left (Win)
春の夜はいこそねられねねやちかき梅のにほひにおどろかれつつ
haru no yo wa
i koso nerarene
neya chikaki
ume no nioi ni
odorokaretsutsu | On a night in springtime
I cannot sleep at all, for
Close by my bedchamber
The scent of plum
Ever wakes me from my slumber… |
Norimori
7
Right
さ夜ふかみ旅ねの床にかをらずは梅さく宿といかでしらまし
sayo fukami
tabine no toko ni
ka orazu wa
ume saku yado to
ikade shiramashi | Deep within brief night
In a traveller’s bed
No scent reaches me, yet
That plum blooms at this dwelling—
How is it I might know? |
Kenshō
8
The Left is particularly evocative. The Right is from an old poetry match.
Plum
Round Three
Left (Tie)
あしがきのおくゆかしくもみゆるかな誰がすむ宿の梅の立えぞ
ashigaki no
oku yukashiku mo
miyuru kana
ta ga sumu yado no
ume no tachie zo | A fence of reeds and
Within, how charming
They appear!
Who is it dwells at this house of
Beckoning branches of plum? |
Lord Kiyosuke
5
Right
ひばりあがる春の日ぐらし袖たれてかきねの梅の花みるわれは
hibari agaru
haru no higurashi
sode tarete
kakine no ume no
hana miru ware wa | Skylarks soar
In springtime all day long,
Dangling my sleeves, upon
The plum inside the lattice fence,
At the blossom gaze I… |
Kenshō
6
The Left is in cliched style, while the final line of the Right is interrupted—a tie, I think.
'Simply moving and elegant'
