In the spring of the year following that in which the Sanjō Minister of the Right had passed away, on hearing that the Minister had summoned her, she sent this to the Prince who was father to the Ise Virgin.
いかでかの年ぎりもせぬたねもがなあれたるやどにうゑて見るべく
| ikade ka no tosigiri mo senu tane mogana aretaru yado ni uwete mirubeku | Why is it that Absent this year are not These seeds! At a ruined dwelling Planted, could they be seen… |
His Daughter, the Junior Consort
Composed at the Kameyama Palace in the Eighth Month, Kenji 2 [1276], when the first topic announced was ‘the shape of a pine tree floating in a pond’.
万代とかめのを山の松かげをうつしてすめるやどの池水
| yorozuyo to kame no oyama no matsukage o utsushite sumeru yado no ikemizu | For ten thousand generations On the mount of Kame Is the pine tree’s shape, Reflected, so clear in This dwelling’s pond waters. |
The Retired Emperor [Kameyama]
Left
古郷をおもひやれども郭公こぞのごとくになれぞなくなる[1]
| furusato o omoiyaredomo hototogisu kozo no gotoku ni nare zo nakunaru | My ancient home Lingers fondly in my thoughts, yet The cuckoo Just as last year Sings as he was accustomed to do! |
49
Right
夏の夜の霜やおけるとみるまでに荒れたる宿を照す月かげ
| natsu no yo no shimo ya okeru to miru made ni aretaru yado o terasu tsukikage | Upon a summer night That frost has fallen It does appear at A ruined dwelling where The moonlight shines. |
50[2]
[1] The concluding two lines of this poem are missing from the contest’s text, but have been supplied by later scholarship.
[2] Kokin rokujō I: 286/A minor variant of this poem is included in Mandaishū (III: 730), with the headnote ‘A poem from the Poetry Contest in One Hundred Rounds held by the Tōin Empress’ なつのよもしもやおけると見るまでにあれたるやどをてらすつきかな natsu no yo no / shimo ya okeru to / miru made ni / aretaru yado o / terasu tsuki kana ‘Upon a summer night / That frost has fallen / It does appear at / A ruined dwelling where / The moon does shine!’
Left (Tie)
何とかく結ぼほるらん君はよもあはれとだにも岩代の松
| nani to kaku musubohoruran kimi wa yomo aware to dani mo iwashiro no matsu |
For what should we be so Entwined? He simply Thinks of me with pity, And says nothing, O pines of Iwashiro! |
Lord Kanemune
1037
Right
人戀ふる宿の櫻に風吹けば花も涙になりにけるかな
| hito kouru yado no sakura ni kaze fukeba hana mo namida ni narinikeru kana |
Loving him, My dwelling’s cherry trees Are blown by the wind, Petals, my tears Have become… |
Nobusada
1038
The Gentlemen of the Right state: the Left’s poem has no faults to mention. The Gentlemen of the Left state: we wonder about the appropriateness of ‘petals, my tears’ (hana mo namida ni).
In judgement: the Left’s poem, with ‘he simply’ (kimi wa yomo) followed by ‘Thinks of me with pity, O pines of Iwashiro!’ (aware to dani mo iwashiro no matsu) is certainly elegant. The Right’s poem does have ‘petals, my tears’ (hana mo namida ni). It commences, ‘loving him, my dwelling’s cherry trees’ (hito kouru yado no sakura) and, when they are blown by the wind, the lady’s eyes darken with tears, and she is unable to distinguish the mass of blossom. It unclear which of the two should be winner, or loser. Thus, I shall make this a tie.