いづこにかかをやどすらんきくのはな色をば霜にとどめおきつつ
| izuko ni ka ka o yadosuran kiku no hana iro oba shimo ni todome’okitsutsu | Where is it that Their fragrance will find lodging? For the chrysanthemum blooms’ Hues by the frost’s Fall have been ended… |
Taira no Koremochi
9
うつろはぬさきにをりてもきくの花霜の心もうしろめたきに
| utsurowanu saki ni orite mo kiku no hana shimo no kokoro mo ushirometaki ni | Yet unfaded, Earlier were picked These chrysanthemum blooms, for The frost’s heart, too, Cannot be trusted… |
[Fujiwara no] Korehira
10
きくのはなをりてはとしもへしものをおきながらこそ色まさりけれ
| kiku no hana orite wa toshi mo heshi mono o okinagara koso iro masarikere | Chrysanthemum blooms Picked, means the year Has passed by, but Even so, still Their hues are most fine, indeed! |
Kakesuke[1]
7
いろもかもともににほへるきくのはななにしもうちにとけてみゆらん
| iro mo ka mo tomo ni nioeru kiku no hana nani shi mo uchi ni tokete miyuran | Hue and scent, too, Both bring a glow To the chrysanthemum blooms— Somehow, secretly, Do they seem at ease. |
[Fujiwara no] Kanemochi
8
[1] Possibly Fujiwara no Kanesuke 藤原兼輔
Composed when viewing the blossom at the Enshūji and recalling former Emperor Gosanjō.
うゑおきしきみもなきよにとしへたる花は我が身のここちこそすれ
| ueokishi kimi mo naki yo ni toshi hetaru hana wa wa ga mi no kokochi koso sure | You planted them here, My Lord, though gone from this world, These many years past— The flowers and my sorry self Both feel the same… |
The Third Prince
三の宮
Round Two
Left (Tie)
すみよしときこゆるさとにいとはずはおきどころなきみをやどさばや
| sumiyoshi to kikoyuru sato ni itowazu wa okidokoro naki mi o yadosaba ya | A pleasant place to live is Sumiyoshi’s Estate, or so I’ve heard, but If it provide no comfort, then My restless Self might it attract… |
Lord Kinshige
103
Right
すぎていにしあきにおくれてしもがるるきくやわがみのたぐひなるらむ
| sugite inishi aki ni okurete shimogaruru kiku ya wa ga mi no tagui naruramu | Past and gone is Autumn, but lingering, Frost-burned Chrysanthemums—is my sorry self Just like them, I wonder? |
Enjitsu
104
Neither the poem of the Left, nor of the Right, sound as if they have any particular faults. Nevertheless, in the case of such poems the assessment varies depending upon the speaker. While the poem of the Left is, indeed, pitiful, it also sounds a bit crude. It would be elegant, I think, if it were a woman’s poem. As for the Right’s poem, if we take it as an expression of grief over orphanhood, then in the final analysis it’s charming as it matches the conception of a scion of a noble house picturing himself as the monarch of the flowers. Then again, we do have the poem by the Enkyū Third Prince:
うゑおきしきみもなきよにとしへたる花は我が身のここちこそすれ
| ueokishi kimi mo naki yo ni toshi hetaru hana wa wa ga mi no kokochi koso sure | You planted them here, My Lord, though gone from this world, These many years past— The flowers and my sorry self Both feel the same…[1] |
This would seem to be in the same vein. Given that the speaker of both poems is unclear, for the moment, these tie.
[1] Composed when viewing the blossom at the Enshūji and recalling former Emperor Gosanjō (KYS IX: 518).
Personal Grievances
Round One
Left
むかしとてみのおもひではなけれどもきみしのびねぞたえずなかるる
| mukashi tote mi no omoide wa nakeredomo kimi shinobine zo taezu nakaruru | Bygone days— Memories of me then Have I none, yet Thinking fondly of my Lord I weep constantly. |
Hyōenosuke
101
Right
いくよしもありへむものとしらぬみはうきもつらきもなにかなげかむ
| iku yo shimo ariemu mono to shiranu mi wa uki mo tsuraki mo nanika nagekamu | However many ages I may live through I know not, so For the coldness and cruelties Why should I grieve so? |
Lord Naganori
102
The configuration of the Left’s poem, beginning ‘Memories of me then / Have I none, yet’ appears elegant. The conception of self-effacingly not recalling oneself but thinking fondly of one’s former master seems sadly moving. The Right’s poem appears splendidly direct in its emotional stance. With that being said, the Right lacks clear source of grief, whereas the Left has its fond recollections, and thus I have to say it wins.
Round Twenty-Five
Left
うちしぐれものさびしかるあしのやのこやのねざめにみやここひしも
| uchishigure mono sabishikaru ashi no ya no koya no nezame ni miyako koishi mo | A slight shower is All the more lonely In a reed-roofed Hut in Koya, starting awake and Longing for the capital more… |
Lord Sanesada
99
Right
あはれにもよはにすぐなるしぐれかななれもやたびのそらにいでつる
| aware ni mo yowa ni sugu naru shigure kana nare mo ya tabi no sora ni idetsuru | How sad is At midnight a passing Shower! Have you, too, on a journey Into the skies departed? |
Lord Toshinari
100
The configuration of the Left’s poem, beginning with ‘All the more lonely’ and concluding with ‘Longing for the capital more’, has already penetrated the boundaries of mystery and depth. It sounds particularly pleasant. The poem of the Right is the judge’s own meagre work. Thus, in accordance with precedent I shall refrain from rendering a judgement.
Round Twenty-Four
Left (Win)
かぜのおとにわきぞかねましまつがねのまくらにもらぬしぐれなりせば
| kaze no oto ni waki zo kanemashi matsu ga ne no makura ni moranu shigure nariseba | The gusts of wind I cannot tell apart from The rustle of the pines roots For my pillow should no drips From the shower fall… |
Lord Sanefusa
97
Right
たびのいほはあらしにたぐふよこしぐれしばのかこひにとまらざりけり
| tabi no io wa arashi ni taguu yoko shigure shiba no kakoi ni tomarazarikeri | My traveller’s hut Is lashed by the storm wind’s Sideways showers— The brushwood walls Halt it not at all. |
Lord Yorimasa
98
The conception and configuration of the poem of the Left, starting ‘I cannot tell apart from / The rustle of the pines’ and continuing ‘For my pillow should no drips / From the shower fall’ is, once again, truly exceptional! As for the poem of the Right, while it appears to have a charming style and use of diction, even if it is the case that ‘sideways showers’ are a genuine phenomenon, it fails to sound particularly elegant, doesn’t it. In addition, the latter section of the poem, ‘the brushwood walls’, feels slightly lacking in conception. Thus, I make the Left the winner.
Round Twenty-Three
Left (Win)
もしほぐさしきつのうらのねざめにはしぐれにのみやそではぬれける
| moshiogusa shikitsu no ura no nezame ni wa shigure ni nomi ya sode wa nurekeru | Salt-seaweed grasses grow On the beach at Shikitsu where On waking is it By the showers alone That my sleeves have dampened? |
Dharma Master Shun’e
95
Right
たびねにははにふのこやのいたびさししぐれのするぞさやにきこゆる
| tabine ni wa hanyū no koya no itabisashi shigure no suru zo saya ni kikoyuru | Sleeping on my travels On an ochre clay hut’s Veranda boards The falling of a shower Sounds striking! |
Lord Sanekuni
96
The Left’s ‘Salt-seaweed grasses grow / On the beach at Shikitsu’ is certainly particularly charming, and really what one should say. The concluding section’s ‘By the showers alone?’, too, does not seem simplistic in conception and diction. As for the Right, while it is not the case that at ‘an ochre clay hut’s…a shower..would sound striking’ has no point to it, the Left’s poem is particularly pleasant. Thus, it wins.
Round Twenty-Two
Left
いなむしろしきつのうらのまつかぜはもりくるをりぞしぐれともしる
| inamushiro shikitsu no ura no matsukaze wa morikuru ori zo shigure to mo shiru | A straw mat spread At Shikitsu Bay, where when On the wind through the pines Come dripping droplets I know a shower is falling! |
Lord Kiyosuke
93
Right (Win)
おほぞらもみやこのかたをしのぶらしこよひはことにうちしぐれつつ
| ōzora mo miyako no kata o shinoburashi koyoi wa koto ni uchishiguretsutsu | The heavens, too, Of the capital Think fondly, it seems, For tonight is especially Filled with constant showers… |
Lord Sanetsuna
94
The poem of the Left appears to have a pleasant conception, blending showers with the wind through the pines and saying, ‘Come dripping droplets / I know a shower is falling!’, but it appears that the straw mat has only been spread because of the reference to Shikitsu [spreading] Bay. Considering the actual nature of a straw mat, however, I do not feel that the sense links with Shikitsu Bay, although it would be charming if sleeping on a journey in the shade of the willows beside a river, or even in a hut among the rice-fields. I do not feel it is appropriate to spread a straw mat beneath the pines at Sumiyoshi. In addition, it is only the straw mat here which has the conception of a journey—how should one feel about that? The configuration of the Right’s poem, beginning with ‘The heavens, too’ and following with ‘Of the capital / Think fondly, it seems’, I would say is a poem for a poetry match. While a counter-argument has been made about the Left’s poem, it’s really asking for the impossible, isn’t it. So, I impose victory for the Right.
Round Twenty-One
Left (Tie)
かきくもりたびねのいほにしぐれしてつゆけさまさるくさまくらかな
| kakikumori tabine no io ni shigureshite tsuyukesa masaru kusamakura kana | Clouds claw in above The hut where I doze upon my travels, and Showers fall— Dew-drenched, above all, is My grassy pillow! |
Lord Shigenori
91
Right
まばらなるいほよりもりてむらしぐれをりしくならのはにぞおとする
| mabara naru io yori morite murashigure orishiku nara no ha ni zo otosuru | Leaky is My hut, so dripping through come The cloudbursts; Plucked and spread the oak Leaves make such a sound! |
Lord Morikata
92
The Left sounds very straightforward. The Right appears heart-rendingly desolate, but I wonder if it isn’t a bit excessive to go so far as the poet reclining on spread oak leaves which are making a sound due to the shower dripping through the hut’s roof? Then again, the Left’s latter section appears to contain little feeling, so comparing the two poems’ together, they should tie, I feel.
