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