koishisa ni omoi’yosoete ominaeshi oru wa ga sode zo itodo tsuyukeki
In my yearning Alike, I feel, is This maidenflower— The sleeve I picked her with is Utterly drenched with dew!
The Former Assistant Governor-General 21
Right
なつかしく折る手にかをれ女郎花恋しき人もわするばかりに
natsukashiku oru te ni kaore ominaeshi koishiki hito mo wasuru bakari ni
So sweetly In my hand that picked you shine, O, maidenflower! That the one I love I would forget a while…
His Excellency, the Head 22
The Left’s ‘sleeve I picked her with is / Utterly drenched with dew’ is a form of words entirely in tune with the topic—it appears charmingly exactly how a poem in a poetry match should be. Then the Right expresses as somewhat shallow and unreliable conception of love that might be forgotten in the face of the shine of a maidenflower picked and held in the hand. Thus, I feel the dew-drenched sleeves are superior here, aren’t they.
akihagi no shitaba no tsuyu ni aranedomo kienu bakari zo hito wa koishiki
Upon the autumn bush clover’s Underleaves a dewdrop I am not, yet Simply will I fade away So much do I love him!
Taiyu no Suke 19
Right
わすられて年ふる里の浅茅生に誰がためしける萩の錦ぞ
wasurarete toshi furu sato no asajū ni ta ga tame shikeru hagi no nishiki zo
All forgotten Through the passing years, at my home Among the tangled mugwort, For whose sake is spread The bush clover’s brocade?
The Daughter of His Excellency, the Head
20
I feel that the poem of the Left is conspicuously poetic, saying ‘Simply will I fade away / So much do I love him!’ while the poem of the Right’s ‘Through the passing years, at my home / Among the tangled mugwort, / For whose sake is spread / The bush clover’s brocade?’ makes me want to ask the bush clover the same question! The pull my heart in more than one direction, so here, too, I feel it’s not possible to decide on a winner or loser.
shinobine o wa ga sode nomi to omoishi o otorazarikeri hagi no shitazuyu
Secretly Upon my sleeves, alone, I thought, but ‘Twas not lesser than The dewfall ‘neath the bush clover.
Minor Captain Kin’nori, Fourth Rank 17
Right
色かはる萩の下葉の露けさは我が身のうへと成りにけるかな
iro kawaru hagi no shitaba no tsuyukesa wa wa ga mi no ue to narinikeru kana
A change of hue To the bush clover’s underleaves Drenched with dew— Upon my sorry self Has it befallen, too!
Tadasue, Senior Assistant Minister of the Sovereign’s Household 18
The image of the droplets of secretly wept upon the poet’s sleeves not being less than those of the dewdrops beneath the bush clover appears extremely charming and moving. In addition, the pain expressed by one’s sorry self being as dew-drenched as the bush clover’s underleaves—this has left my own sleeves, both left and right, seeming as soaked with dewdrops from the bush clover.
kaze samumi yūkage kusa ni kakuroete hataorumushi no koe kikoyu nari
Chill the wind Upon the evening grasses, from Whence, concealed, The crickets’ Cries I hear.
Chikafusa 15
Right
誰がためとあやめも見えぬ夕ざれにはたおる虫の声聞ゆらん
ta ga tame to ayame mo mienu yūzare ni hataorumushi no koe kikoyuran
For whose sake Amidst the gloam Of eventide, might The crickets’ Cries I hear?
Lady Hȳoe 16
At present, ‘Amidst the gloam / Of eventide’ appears to have a bit more conception than ‘the evening grasses, from / Whence, concealed, / The crickets’.
hōriko ga shimeyū nobe no suzumushi wa yū tsukete koso furitatete nake
The priests have Garlanded the meadows where The bell crickets With the fall of evening Sing out so loud.
Major Archbishop 13
Right
神がきのいはねにさせる榊葉にゆふかけてなく鈴虫のこゑ
kamigaki no iwane ni saseru sakakiba ni yū kakete naku suzumushi no koe
Within the sacred precincts At the crags’ foot thrust Are leaves from the sacred tree To the garlands clinging, as crying Come the bell crickets’ songs.
Tadasue, Senior Assistant Minister of the Sovereign’s Household 14
I would say that both of these, Left and Right, are of the same quality in terms of diction and configuration.
kumo kakaru takashi no yama no akegure ni tsuma madowaseru oshika naku nari
All hung about with cloud On Takashi Mountain In the gloaming Having lost his mate A stag bells out.
Nakamasa 11
Right
山がつの先あかつきをしりがほに裾野に出でて鹿ぞ鳴くなる
yamagatsu no mazu akatsuki o shirigao ni susono ni idete shika zo naku naru
A mountain man First of all, that ‘tis dawn Knows plain upon his face, As he sets out upon the slopes As a stag bells out!
Head 12
The Left poem’s conclusion, ‘Having lost his mate / A stag bells out’ seems no different from that of a poem by Gō no Jijū in poetry match held by the First Princess.[1] As for the poem of the Right’s ‘A mountain man / Awaits the dawn / Knowing plain upon his face’—what on earth might a mountain man look like while waiting for dawn? There is the tale of Hangu Pass in Cathay, where the barrier guard was waiting for dawn and opened the gate after hearing a cock’s crow, but the expression ‘a mountain man awaits the dawn’ has never appeared before in a poem—either one of Cathay or in the words of Yamato, so I feel that both Left and Right lack any superlative qualities.
[1] Stags. をぐら山たちどもみえぬゆふぎりにつままどはせるしかぞなくなる ogurayama / tachidomo mienu / yūgiri ni / tsuma madowaseru / shika zo nakunaru ‘On gloomy Ogura Mountain / Stands unseen / Among the evening mists / Having lost his mate / A belling stag.’ (Yūshi naishinnō-ke uta’awase eishō go-nen 27). This event was held at the residence of Imperial Princess Sukeko (Yūshi) on the 5th day of the Sixth Month, Eishō 5 [26.10.1050]. The poem won its round, and was later included in Goshūishū (IV: 292).
akatsuki ni nari ya shinuran ogurayama naku shika no ne ni tsuki katabukinu
Is the dawning On its way, I wonder? On gloomy Mount Ogura Crying, a stag bell out As the moon sets.
Mototoshi, Former Assistant Captain in the Palace Guards, Left Division 9
Right
暁や声高砂になく鹿をほのかにやきく沖の舟人
akatsuki ya koe takasago ni naku shika o honoka ni ya kiku oki no funabito
At the dawning From the heights, the bell, at Takasago Of a stag Is faintly heard, perhaps, By the boatmen on the offing…
Head 10
The Left’s poem lacks any superlative diction, yet does not appear to have any glaring faults either. As for the Right’s poem, I do question the placement of ‘at’ in ‘at the dawning’ and, in addition, the order seems reversed in ‘From the heights, the bell, at Takasago / Of a stag’—so much so that I find it difficult to grasp the sense. If the poem had been composed to put ‘stag’ before ‘heights of Takasago’, the poem would feel more trustworthy, wouldn’t it.
itodoshiku teri koso masare momijiba ni hikage utsurou ama no kagoyama
All the more Brightly do shine The scarlet leaves Reflecting the sunshine On heavenly Mount Kago!
Minor Captain Lord Kin’nori, Fourth Rank 7
Right
天の原時雨にくもるけふしもぞ紅葉の色はてりまさりける
ama no hara shigure ni kumoru kyō shimo zo momiji no iro wa terimasarikeru
The plain of heaven is Clouded with showers, but Today for certain The hues of the scarlet leaves Shine most bright.
The Daughter of His Excellency, the Head 8
Considering the Left’s ‘Reflecting the sunshine / On heavenly Mount Kago’ about scarlet leaves reflecting the sun’s light, gives me the feeling that this must be a mistaken reference to the garlands of scarlet clubmoss worn by minor officiants at the Great Thanksgiving Service. In addition, among all of the many mountains in various places whose leaves turn scarlet, it seems something of a stretch to go so far as to mention Heavenly Mount Kago, considering it is an archaic expression found in the Collection of a Myriad Leaves, among other places. The Right’s ‘Clouded with showers, but / Today for certain’ is an expression perfectly in tune with the topic, making one wonder whether the leaves’ hue is the result of single drenching which has dyed them superbly.
