Sent to the Princess of the Fourth.[i]
葦たづの沢辺に年はへぬれども心は雲のうへにのみこそ
| asitadu no saFabe ni tosi Fa Fenuredomo kokoro Fa kumo no uFe ni nomi koso | Among the reeds, a crane, By the marsh’s edge years Have passed, yet, His heart is for the clouds’ Heights, alone… |
The Minister of the Right
753
[i] Princess Isoko (Kinshi) 勤子 (904-938), the fifth daughter of Emperor Daigo 醍醐 (885-930; r. 897-930) (her sobriquet comes from her rank – shihon 四品 (‘Fourth Order’). She was to marry Fujiwara no Morosuke 藤原師輔 (909-960), who writes to her here, in 930, after a secret affair, becoming the first imperial princess to marry a commoner. She is chiefly remembered today, however, as the patron of Minamoto no Shitagō 源順 (911-983) who ordered him to produce Japan’s first dictionary, Wamyō ruijushō 和名類聚抄 (931-938).
Round Twelve
Left (T – Win)
わが恋はたかしの浜にゐる田鶴の尋ねてゆかん方もおぼえず
| wa ga koi wa takashi no hama ni iru tazu no tazuneteyukan kata mo oboezu | My love is Upon Takashi Beach A resting crane— He will go a’visting, but Where? No one knows… |
Lord Tamezane
71
Right (M – Win)
あふことのたのむる人のなきときはよをうき物と思ひぬるかな
| au koto no tanomuru hito no naki toki wa yo o uki mono to omoinuru kana | To meet with me Is there no one I can trust— At such times The world is such a cruel place I feel! |
Lord Tokimasa
72
Toshiyori states: the poems of both Left and Right seem to be of about the same standard. The first poem displays slightly better technique, but there’s nothing to point out about it. The later poem doesn’t do anything. I would say ‘A resting crane— / He will go a’visiting’ wins.
Mototoshi states: as for the poem about ‘My love is / Upon Takashi Beach’: it really seems to me that if you mention Takashi – heights – then you need to mention waves. After all, in reply to Tadafusa Tsurayuki composed, ‘The waves offshore / Rise high; on the beach at Takashi’, and while there are many beaches, I recklessly feel its mistaken not to have waves linked with Takashi Beach—although, of course, this may be a failing of my elderly mind. The poem of the Right’s ‘feeling in a cruel place’ seems a bit smoother in the current context.
Composed when he was far from courtier’s hall.
あまつ風ふけひの浦にゐるたづのなどか雲井にかへらざるべき
| ama tsu kaze fukei no ura ni iru tazu no nado ka kumoi ni kaerazarubeki | Heaven’s breezes Blow upon the shore at Fukei, where Rests a crane: Why, beyond the clouds, May he not return? |
Fujiwara no Kiyotada
藤原清正[1]
[1] Fujiwara no Kiyotada 藤原清正 (?-953): one of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals and a minor courtier. As well as being included in Shinkokinshū, this poem is also listed in Wakan rōeishū (II: 453), Kiyotada’s personal collection, Kiyotada-shū (89) and also the personal collection of Fujiwara no Tadami 藤原忠見, Tadami-shū (143). While Wakan rōeishū simply gives the topic of the poem as ‘Cranes’, the personal collections provide more information. Tadami states that the poem was ‘Sent to the Shōni Palace Lady to present in his place when he was of about the age to be admitted to the Courtier’s Hall and had become Governor of Kii’ making the waka a plea for further advancement at court. Kiyotada himself simply says ‘When I had become Governor of Kii and had not yet been permitted to enter the Courtier’s Hall.’ Tanaka and Akase (1992, 502) note that Kiyotada was appointed Governor of Kii while still a Chamberlain at Sixth Rank, when this was usually a post held by someone of Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade, the lowest rank at which a man would be permitted to enter the Courtier’s Hall (tenjō no ma 殿上間) and have direct contact with the emperor. The poem is, thus, simultaneously, an expression of gratitude for imperial favour (the ‘heavenly wind’) to him (‘the crane’) which has made him Governor of Ki – the province where Fukei is located, and a plea that he be allowed above ‘the clouds’ (into the Courtier’s Hall), which is subtly laced with resentment (‘Why haven’t I had the promotion in rank which this post would normally bring?’)!
Cranes in a garden (庭上鶴馴)
Left
庭の面に人になれたるあしたづはよはひをきみにゆづるなるべし
| niwa no omo ni hito ni naretaru ashitazu wa yowai o kimi ni yuzurunarubeshi | Upon this garden’s face stands, Accustomed to folk, A crane; His years to my Lord Will he bestow, no doubt! |
A Court Lady
31
Right
千とせふるやどのけしきやしるからん汀のたづのなれにけるかな
| chitose furu yado no keshiki ya shirukaran migiwa no tazu no narenikeru kana | Is it that a thousand years old This dwelling does appear? For to the muddy Water’s edge the cranes Have become accustomed! |
A Court Lady
32
Left (Tie)
君ゆへもかなしき琴の音は立てつ子を思ふ鶴に通ふのみかは
| kimi yue mo kanashiki koto no ne wa tatetsu ko o omou tsuru ni kayou nomi ka wa |
For you In sadness has my zither Put forth strains, so Can a crane calling for her chick Be the only one to cry? |
A Servant Girl
1101
Right
よそになる人だにつらき琴の音に子を思ふ鶴も心知られて
| yoso ni naru hito dani tsuraki koto no ne ni ko o omou tsuru mo kokoro shirarete |
Strangers to me – Even they the pain Within my zither’s strains, As a crane calling for her chick, Feel in their hearts! |
Ietaka
1102
Left and Right together: no faults to mention.
In judgement: both Left and Right mention ‘a crane calling for her chick’ (ko o omou tsuru). This would appear to be after the conception of the pentachord in Bai’s Works: ‘The third and fourth strings are chill, and at night a crane, loving her chick, calls from her cage.’ This is not the usual zither with seven strings, but it is certainly also a kind of zither. In the topic ‘On Zithers’ there is certainly no issue with alluding to Japanese zithers or Chinese ones, is there? In any case, neither poem seems greatly inferior or superior, so the round ties.
