Flutes 笛
まきの戸をあけがたにても笛竹のこちくの声ぞ人だのめなる
maki no to o akegata nite mo fuetake no kochiku no koe zo hito danomenaru By my door of cedar wood At the edge of dawn A bamboo Flute’s notes denote A trustworthy man, indeed![1]
Daishin
[1] An allusive variation on Kintō-shū 511 .
Flutes 笛
ことわりや宿につくりし竹なれば笛のねにてもそめるなりけり
kotowari ya yado ni tsukurishi take nareba fue no ne nite mo someru narikeri How natural it is—that My house was built Of bamboo, so The strains of a flute Have dyed it!
Tadafusa
Felicitations 賀
つきもせぬ君がよはひはいくちよとかぎれる竹の枝にやあるらん
tsuki mo senu kimi ga yowai wa iku chiyo to kagireru take no eda ni ya aruran Inexhaustible is My Lord’s age: How many thousand generations Limit it – a bamboo Branch might know!
Daishin
Felicitations 賀
我が君をいはひこめつつ竹の枝ちよとちぎるはうれしかりけり
wa ga kimi o iwaikometsutsu take no eda chiyo to chigiru wa ureshikarikeri For My Lord While deep in celebration Upon a branch of bamboo ‘Live a thousand generations!’ I vow – What joy!
Higo
Preparing Tribute 貢調
笛竹のつかひはいつかこちくらんあなまちどほの道のあひだや
fue take no tsukai wa itsuka kochi kuran ana machidō no michi no aida ya Blowing on his bamboo flute When will the messenger Arrive here? O, the wait feels as long As the roads he travels on!
Kanemasa
Left (Tie)
うらやましわがりこちくと笛の音を頼むる中の人は聞くらん
urayamashi
wagari kochiku to
fue no ne o
tanomuru naka no
hito wa kikuran
O, how I envious I am!
To my house comes, a bamboo
Flute’s strains – from
A trustworthy, loving
Man, it sounds…
Lord Suetsune
1087
Right
より竹の君によりけんことぞ憂き一夜のふしに音のみ泣かれて
yoritake no
kimi ni yoriken
koto zo uki
hitoyo no fushi ni
ne nomi nakarete
Bamboo flotsam –
That you should draw near
Is cruel, indeed, for
A single night together, brings
Only the sound of weeping…
Lord Tsune’ie
1088
‘Flotsam of bamboo’ (yoritake ) and ‘comes, a bamboo’ (kochiku ) are equally unsatisfying.
In judgement: ‘Flotsam of bamboo’ and ‘comes, a bamboo’ are of equal quality.
Sleet
ひまをあらみ竹のすがきの下さえてよなよなふるは霙なりけり
hima o arami take no sugaki no shita saete yonayona furu wa mizore narikeri Having gaps The lattice bamboo fence Is chill beneath, as Night after night falls Sleet.
Tadafusa
川社しのにおりはへ乾す衣いかに乾せばか七日干ざらん
kaFa yasiro
sino ni oriFaFe
Fosu koromo
ikani Foseba ka
nanoka Fizaran
At a river shrine
Stems of bamboo wave freely
The clothes I’d dry
How should I do so?
Seven days still damp…
Ki no Tsurayuki
紀貫之
Left (Win).
葉を若みまだふし馴れぬ呉竹のこはしほるべき露の上かは
ha o wakami
mada fushinarenu
kuretake no
ko wa shiorubeki
tsuyu no ue ka wa
Fresh leaved, and
Not yet grown to knots in bed,
A bamboo
Maid: will she draw the
Kindly dew upon her?
Lord Sada’ie .
861
Right.
情なき風に従ふ姫百合は露けきことやならはざるらん
nasakenaki
kaze ni shitagau
himeyuri wa
tsuyukeki koto ya
narawazaruran
The heartless
Wind brushes
A young star lily:
To being dew drenched
Is she, perhaps, unaccustomed?
Lord Tsune’ie .
862
The Right state: the Left’s poem has not faults to indicate. The Left state: the Right’s poem lacks the conception of Love.
In judgement: the Left uses ‘bamboo’ (kuretake ) and the Right ‘star lily’ (himeyuri ): although the Left’s ‘Maid: will she draw’ (ko wa shiorubeki ) does not seem possible to accept on grounds of style, but the Right, in addition to also lacking much conception of Love, has ‘heartless wind’ (nasakenaki kaze ) which sounds poor. Thus, the Left should win, I think.
梅の花散らまく惜しみ我が園の竹の林に鴬鳴くも
ume no pana
tiramaku wosimi
wa ga sono no
take no payasi ni
ugupisu naku kamo
The plum blossom
Will scatter, so full of regret
In my garden’s
Bamboo grove
Does the warbler cry.
Junior Secretary Aji no Okishima
少監阿氏奥島
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