A party of ladies on their way home from Shiga came into the precincts of the Kazan temple and stood for a while beneath the wisteria; when they had gone, he composed this and sent it to them.
よそに見てかへらん人にふぢの花はひまつはれよ枝はおるとも
| yoso ni mite kaFeran Fito ni Fudi no Fana FaFimatuFare yo eda Fa oru tomo | A casual glance, and Then those girls are gone; O, wisteria blooms, Twine around and hold them here, Though your branches break… |
Archbishop Henjō
Composed when there was much disturbance in the world.
朝な朝な鹿の柵む萩がえの末葉の露のありがたのよや
| asana asana sika no sikaramu Fagi ga e no suweba no tuyu no arigata no yo ya |
Every morning The stag is tangled in Bush clover branches, Dew upon the leaf-tips – Such is the length of life… |
Zōki
増基
Left (Win)
うかりける我み山木の契かな連なる枝もありとこそ聞け
| ukarikeru wa ga mi yamagi no chigiri kana tsuranaru eda mo ari to koso kike |
In despair Am I: hidden among the mountain trees Is my love; Though once branches lay atop each other I did hear… |
Lord Suetsune
1039
Right
涙には憂き深山木も朽ちぬべし沖つ小嶋のひさきならねど
| namida ni wa uki fukayamagi mo kuchinubeshi oki tsu kojima no hisaki naranedo |
Among my tears, Drift, despairing, trees from the mountain deeps, Rotting all away, though On islets in the offing On bush-covered beaches, they are not… |
Lord Tsune’ie
1040
Both Left and Right state: we find no faults.
In judgement: both Left and Right use the image of ‘trees from the mountain deeps’ (fukayamagi), and neither is superior, or inferior, to the other in this, but I would have to say that the Left’s ‘though once branches lay atop each other I did hear…’ (tsuranaru eda mo ari to koso kike) is somewhat better than the Right’s ‘on bush-covered beaches, they are not…’ (hisaki naranedo).
Left
相思ふ中には枝も交しけり君が梢はいやおちにして
| ai’omou naka ni wa eda mo kawashikeri kimi ga kozue wa iya’ochi ni shite |
Joined in love Branches meet and Twine together, they say, yet As the treetops, you fail to come Again, and yet again. |
Kenshō
1033
Right (Win)
人しれぬ心に君を楢柴のしばしもよそに思はずもがな
| hito shirenu kokoro ni kimi o narashiba no shibashi mo yoso ni omowasu mogana |
Unknown to all My heart to you Inclines among the oaks; For just a while, as a stranger I would you not think of me… |
Lord Takanobu
1034
The Gentlemen of the Right state: ‘again, and yet again’ (iya’ochi) does not sound pleasant. The Gentlemen of the Left state: the Right’s poem has no faults to mention.
In judgement: the Left’s poem, having the conception of intertwined branches is pleasant, but ‘treetops at my house’ (yado no kozue) would be normal, so I wonder about ‘as the treetops, you fail to come’ (kimi ga kozue)? In the Right’s poem, although ‘among the oaks; for just a while’ (narashiba no shibashi) is commonplace, it is still more elegant than ‘again and yet again’.
鴬のこつたふ枝の移り香は桜の花のときの待つ衣
| ugupisu no ko tutapu eda no uturika pa sakura no pana no toki no matu kinu |
The bush warbler Tells me of the branches’ Fragrance: For cherry blossom Season does my robe await. |
Yamabe no Akahito
山辺赤人
Brushwood
時雨つつふく山かぜに椎しばの枝はなびけど色はかはらず
| shiguretsutsu fuku yama kaze ni shiishiba no eda wa nabikedo iro wa kawarazu | Showers mixed with Gusting mountain winds The brushwood Branches bend down yet They show no change of hue. |
Minamoto no Kanemasa
源兼昌
Left (Tie).
涙せく袖のよそめは竝べどもわすれずやともいふひまぞなき
| namida seku sode no yosome wa narabedomo wasurezu ya to mo iu hima zo naki |
Tears are dammed upon My sleeves, and within eyesight Does she sit arrayed, but ‘Have you not forgotten me?’ – To ask that, I have no chance! |
Lord Sada’ie
883
Right.
梅が枝の末越す中の垣根より思ふ心や色に見えまし
| ume ga e no sue kosu naka no kakine yori omou kokoro ya iro ni miemashi |
The plum branches’ Tips cross beyond Her fence, so Will the love within my heart Appear plain before her? |
Jakuren
884
Both teams state there are no faults with their opponent’s poem.
In judgement: the Gentlemen of both Left and Right have stated that there are no faults with the style of either poem. I accept that and will make this round a tie.
Two poems composed by Naga no imiki Okimaro, grieving at the sight of the bound pine.
磐代の岸の松が枝結びけむ人は帰りてまた見けむかも
| ipasiro no kisi no matu ga e musubikemu pito pa kaperite mata mikemu kamo |
On Iwashiro’s Shore, a pine’s branches It seems he tied – I wonder, will he return And see them once more… |
Naga no Okimaro
長意吉麻呂
Topic unknown.
あしひきの山地も知らず白樫の枝にも葉にも雪の降れれば
| asiFiki no yamadi mo sirazu sirakasi no eda ni mo Fa ni mo yuki no Furereba |
The leg-wearying Mountain paths I cannot tell: For on the white oak Branches, and on the leaves Snow has fallen… |
Hitomaro
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).