When the Minamoto Minister had visited her, but then lately had not come to call, she caught a faint glimpse of him through a hole in the wall of her chamber, and sent him this.
まどろまぬかべにも人を見つるかなまさしからなん春の夜の夢
| madoromanu kabe ni mo Fito wo mituru kana masasikaranan Faru no yo no yume | Unable to sleep, Through my wall him I did glimpse! O, how I wish were true My dream this brief spring night… |
Suruga
Round Thirty
Personal Grievances
Left (Tie)
としをへて梅も桜もさくものを我が身のはるにまちぞかねぬる
| toshi o hete ume mo sakura mo saku mono o wa ga mi no haru ni machi zo kanenuru | The years go by and The plum and cherry, too, Burst into bloom, yet For the springtime of my sorry self It is so hard to have waited! |
Kiyosuke
59
Right
数ならで年へぬる身は今さらに世をうしとだにおもはざりけり
| kazu narade toshi henuru mi wa ima sara ni yo o ushi to dani omowazarikeri | Innumerable are The years I’ve passed, but Right now, that The world is a cruel place, even I do not think. |
Shun’e
60
Both of these have no faults to point out, but also no superlative parts either.
Round Twenty-Three
Left (Win)
雪ふかみしづのふせ屋もうづもれて煙ばかりぞしるしなりける
| yuki fukami shizu no fuseya mo uzumorete keburi bakari zo shirushi narikeru | Snow so deep that The peasants’ huts, too, Are buried, and The smoke, alone, is Their only sign! |
Kinshige
45
Right
花の春もみぢの秋もしるかりし松の木ずゑもみえぬ白雪
| hana no haru momiji no aki mo shirukarishi matsu no kozue mo mienu shirayuki | By blossom is spring, and By scarlet leaves is autumn Known— The treetops of the pines Invisible with snow, so white. |
Kūnin
46
The Left poem’s conception of ‘sign of smoke’ sounds particularly profound. As for the Right, it is possible for enough snow to fall to conceal a pine’s lower leaves, too, so the poem does not sound satisfying.
Round Eight
Left (Tie)
うき世をば又なににかはなぐさめん花にさきだついのちともがな
| ukiyo oba mata nani ni ka wa nagusamen hana ni sakidatsu inochi to mogana | In this cruel world Is there yet anything else To console me? Before the blossoms’ departure I would my life do the same… |
Court Lady Taifu
15
Right
桜さく春の山風みねこせば雪ふりつもる谷のほそみち
| sakura saku haru no yamakaze mine koseba yuki furitsumoru tani no hosomichi | When in cherry-blooming Spring, the mountain breezes Cross the peaks Snow falls and piles high Upon the narrow valley paths. |
Moromitsu
16
Both poems are smooth, and on that basis, I would say that the Right is superior, but it has an archaic element, while the Left lacks anything unusual about it, so this is a tie of quality.
