Left
こひしきにねざめてみをぞうきなみのよるぞかなしきそでのひつまで
| koishiki ni nezamete mi o zo ukinami no yoru zo kanashiki sode no hitsu made | Filled with love I do awake, but Waves of depression drift, Breaking the night with sadness Until my sleeves are drenched through… |
17
Right
うつつにもゆめにもみえずなりぬればさむるよなよなねをのみぞなく
| utsutsu ni mo yume ni mo miezu narinureba samuru yonayona ne o nomi zo naku | In both reality, and Dreams I see her not— When it comes to that, then On waking night after night Will I simply weep! |
18
Left
うちさめてこひしきひとをおもふよはわがたましひもゆきてつげなん
| uchisamete koishiki hito o omou yo wa wa ga tamashii mo yukite tsugenan | Awaking when My darling girl Filled my thoughts all night, Even my soul Has gone to let her know! |
15
Right
よはにおきてこひぞわびぬるはるのよはゆめにみえつるひとのなければ
| yowa ni okite koi zo wabinuru haru no yo wa yume ni mietsuru hito no nakereba | Arising at midnight, and Suffering love’s fire On a night in spring, For in my dreams I saw My girl, though she’s not here now… |
16
Left
めをさめてひまよりつきをながむればおもかげにのみきみぞみえける
| me o samete hima yori tsuki o nagamureba omokage ni nomi kimi zo miekeru | Opening my eyes, Through the gaps upon the moon Have I turned my gaze, for Only in its shape Can I get a glimpse of you! |
13
Right
ゆめのうちにこひしきひとのみえつればあはれをますはねざめなりけり
| yume no uchi ni koishiki hito no mietsureba aware o masu wa nezame narikeri | Within my dreams My darling girl Was I able to see, so What increases my sadness most But waking. |
14
Left
ひとこひてぬるはるのよはしきたへのまくらながれてうきぬべきかな
| hito koite nuru haru no yo wa shikitae no makura nagarete ukinubeki kana | Loving her, and Sleeping on a night in spring, My mulberry cloth Pillow in the flow Simply floats away! |
11
Right
ねざめするわがしきたへはいけなれやつまなきをしとなかれこそすれ
| nezamesuru wa ga shikitae wa ike nare ya tsuma naki oshi to nakare koso sure | On waking Is my mulberry cloth A pond, by chance? For as a mandarin drake without his duck Do I surely cry! |
12
Left
いをしねばゆめにもひとをみるべきをよなよなさむるめこそつらけれ
| i o shi neba yume ni mo hito o mirubeki o yonayona samuru me koso tsurakere | When I’m deep in sleep Even in my dreams, too, her I can behold, but Waking, night after night, Is cruel to my eyes, indeed! |
9
Right
こひわびてこころまどへるねざめにはおもかげをだにあふとたのまむ
| koiwabite kokoro madoeru nezame ni wa omokage o dani au to tanomamu | Desolate with love, My heart just wanders lost; On waking, Even an image of you To meet is all I would ask. |
10
Left
ねざめつつみをうぐひすのねをぞなくはなさかりにしきみをこふれば
| nezametsutsu mi o uguisu no ne o zo naku hana sakarinishi kimi o koureba | Every time I wake, My flesh, as a warbler, Lets out sobbing cries, For, fair as a blossom in bloom, It is you I long for, my lady… |
7
Right
ことにいでてなにかいふべきねざめつつこふるしたひもそらにとくらむ
| koto ni idete nani ka iubeku nezametsutsu kouru shitahimo sora ni tokuramu | To put it into words, What is there I can say? Every time I wake, Your underbelt, which I want so, Seems to be loosening in the skies alone. |
8
Left
ゆめにだにみるべきものをねざめつつこふるこころはゆくかたもなし
| yume ni dani mirubeki mono o nezametsutsu kouru kokoro wa yuku kata mo nashi | If even in my dreams I could but see her, but Always I awake, and My loving heart has Nowhere to go, at all… |
5
Right
あふことはゆめのうちにもうれしくてねざめののちぞわびしかりける
| au koto wa yume no uchi ni mo ureshikute nezame no nochi zo wabishikarikeru | A meeting In my dreams Brings me such joy, but After waking, truly, I am so sad and lonely. |
6
Left
ひとしれずねざめのこひはよぶこどりよぶかきこゑはきくひともなし
| hito shirezu nezame no koi wa yobukodori yobukaki koe wa kiku hito mo nashi | Unknown to all I awake and yearn: A songbird Late at night sings With no one listening at all. |
3
Right
おもひやるこころしゆかばさよふけておきゐてこふとつぐべきものを
| omoiyaru kokoro shi yukaba sayo fukete oki’ite kou to tsugubeki mono o | If, steadfast, My heart but was, then As brief night wore on I’d arise and my love Be able to announce, but… |
4
The two princes of former Emperor Yōzei held a poetry match, occupying the Left and Right on the topics of ‘love on waking’ and ‘love after a dawn parting’.
Love on Waking
Left
ねてよりもさめてののちのわびしきはつらきうつつにまどふなりけり
| nete yori mo samete no nochi no wabishiki wa tsuraki utsutsu ni madou narikeri | More than sleeping After waking is Sad and lonely— Cruel reality Leaves me lost. |
1
Right
くやくやとまちてねざめにおきたればつきよりほかにいるひとぞなき
| kuyakuya to machite nezame ni okitareba tsuki yori hoka ni iru hito zo naki | Such painful thoughts Await me on waking When I arise Other than the moon There is no one here at all. |
2
| Shinpen kokka taikan no. | 21 |
| Heian-chō uta’awase taisei no. | 40 |
| Title | 陽成院親王二人歌合 |
| Romanised Title | Yōzei’in miko futari uta’awase |
| Translated Title | Poetry Contest held by Two Imperial Princes of Former Emperor Yōzei |
| Alternative Title(s) | See below |
| Date | Before 7 Tengyō 6 [943] |
| Extant Poems | 39 |
| Sponsor | Imperial Prince Motoyoshi 元良親王 |
| Identifiable Participants | N |
| Judgements | N |
| Topics | Nezame no koi ねざめのこひ (‘Love on waking;); Akatsuki no wakare no koi あかつきのわかれのこひ (‘Love on morning partings’) |
This match is referred to by a range of different sobriquets in different texts:
From these various appellations, it seems clear that the main sponsor was Imperial Prince Motoyoshi 元良親王 (890-943), the eldest son of Emperor Yōzei 陽成 (869-949; r. 876-884), who was born after his father’s abdication and was thus not part of the line of imperial succession. The identity of the second prince is less certain, but Hagitani (1957, 276) suggests that the most likely candidate is Imperial Prince Motohira 元平親王 (?-958), Motoyoshi’s full brother, given their blood relationship.
Motoyoshi is known to have died on the 26th day of the Seventh Month, Tengyō 6 [28.8.943], so the match cannot have taken place any later than this, but there is no other evidence available to date it more precisely. It is possible that it could have occurred as early as Engi 10 [910], but this seems somewhat unlikely given that Motohira would probably have been very young at this point, and the match’s topics, ‘Love on Waking’ and ‘Love after a Dawn Parting’ required a certain maturity to develop. This would seem to match what we know of the brothers from other sources: Motoyoshi developed a reputation as something of a womaniser—Yamato monogatari 大和物語 (‘The Tales of Yamato’; before 951) contains a number of anecdotes about his love affairs, and even suggests that he used to secretly watch passing women from one of his residences (Tahara 1980, 83). By contrast, the same text’s sole reference to Motohira relates that he suddenly returned to visit a lady with whom he had long been intimate after failing to call on her for a lengthy period. She was so shocked by this that she fled and would not speak to him (Tahara 1980, 15–16).
Given the topics and lack of any other material, it is most likely that this was a private entertainment organized by Motoyoshi and involving his brother. If so, the event would have focussed purely on the poetry and lacked other accoutrements such as a diorama. It is possible that it may have involved only the two princes, without a reciter, reader and judge—certainly if any others were present, their names were not recorded, nor were any judgements or other critical comments.