When various people had come to see the blossom blooming beautifully at his mountain retreat in Kitashirakawa.
春きてぞ人もとひける山ざとは花こそやどのあるじなりけれ
| Faru kite zo Fito mo toFikeru yamazato Fa Fana koso yado no aruzi narikere | Spring has come, and Folk visiting, too, My mountain retreat: The blossoms are the dwelling’s Master, to be sure! |
Kintō, Captain of the Outer Palace Guards, Right Division
Left (Win).
旅寢する我をば床の主にて枕に宿る小夜の面影
| tabinesuru ware oba toko no aruji nite makura ni yadoru sayo no omokage |
When sleeping on my travels I of my bedding Am master! Lodging by my pillow is A face from a night too brief… |
Lord Ari’ie
895
Right.
まどろまぬその夜な夜なを數ふれば夢路も遠き草枕哉
| madoromanu sono yona yona o kazoureba yumeji mo tōki kusamakura kana |
Unable to even doze Night after night I count them up, and The path of dreams gets more Distant from my grassy pillow. |
Lord Takanobu
896
The Right state: the Left’s poem seems fine. The Left state: we find no faults to mention.
In judgement: the Right’s ‘the path of dreams gets more distant’ (yumeji mo tōki) sounds elegant, but the Left’s poem has already been assessed as ‘fine’ in the comments by the gentlemen of the Right. This round I will leave the judgement in their hands and make the Left the winner.
Left (Win).
重ねずと思ふばかりぞ小夜衣匂ひは袖に移りぬるかな
| kasanezu to omou bakari zo sayogoromo nioi wa sode ni utsurinuru kana |
No piled robes, but All I do is long for her: Her night-robe’s Scent upon my sleeves Does dwell…. |
Lord Suetsune
881
Right.
匂ひ來る梢ばかりを情にて主は遠き宿の梅が枝
| nioikuru kozue bakari o nasake nite aruji wa tōki yado no mume ga e |
The scent drifting From the treetops is my only Consolation, for Their master is as far away As his dwelling’s plum blossom branches… |
Nobusada
882
The Right state: the Left’s poem lacks any faults to indicate. The Left state: is the Right’s poem not composed upon the plum blossom of the house next door?
In judgement: for the topic of ‘Nearby Love’, poems composed where the lovers are in the same room are most likely winners. Even so, how close do their dwellings need to be? The Left’s latter section, ‘Her night-robe’s scent upon my sleeves’ (sayogoromo nioi wa sode ni) is certainly elegant. The Right’s poem has ‘Their master is as far away’ (aruji wa tōki). Simply because of this, it is certainly not composed on plum blossom. Still, the Left’s ‘night-robe’ (sayogoromo) seems a little superior to ‘The scent drifting from the treetops is my only consolation’ (nioikuru kozue bakari o nasake nite).
