Katsura 桂
はれまなき心のやみにまよひつつえこそたをらね月のかつらを
| harema naki kokoro no yami ni mayoitsutsu e koso taorane tsuki no katsura o | No parting of the clouds Of darkness in my heart, so I am ever lost – No branch will I break from A silver tree upon the moon… |
Tadafusa
Stars 星
ひこぼしの心も空にはつ秋の七日の夜をやこひしかるらん
| hikoboshi no kokoro mo sora ni hatsu’aki no nanuka no yo o ya koishikaruran | Does the Herd Boy’s Heart within the skies Find early autumn’s Seventh night The most dear of all? |
Kanemasa
Love Separated by Distant Roads 隔遠路恋
我がこひは心づくしのみちとほみゆきめぐりてもいつかあふべき
| wa ga koi wa kokorozukushi no michi tōmi yukimeguritemo itsuka aubeki | My love does Drain my heart; On distant roads He travels on, yet When is it we will meet? |
Higo
Love Separated by Distant Roads 隔遠路恋
はるばるとおもひやれどもあさゆふにゆかぬ心のくるしきやなぞ
| harubaru to omoiyaredomo asa yū ni yukanu kokoro no kurushiki ya nazo | On the distance far Do dwell my pondering thoughts, so Why, morning and evening, too, Does my heart, held here, Feel such pain? |
Tadafusa
Love Separated by Distant Roads 隔遠路恋
白雲の八重なる山はかさぬともこころは空にかよへとほづま
| shiragumo no yae naru yama wa kasanu tomo kokoro wa sora ni kayoe tōzuma | Clouds of white, Eightfold upon the mountains Do not lie, yet My heart, into the skies Fly back and forth, to my distant love! |
Nakazane
Love Interrupted by a Year 経年恋
いかにせんあはで年さへこえぬるにわすれぬ恋の心ながさを
| ika ni sen awade toshi sae koenuru ni wasurenu koi no kokoro nagasa o | O, what am I to do? For even a year with no meeting Have I spent, but An unforgettable love Runs through my heart… |
Higo
Composed when it was said that a poetry competition was to be held at the residence of the Middle Captain Lady of the Bedchamber in the Ninna period.[1]
おしと思心は糸によられなん散る花ごとに貫きてとどめむ
| oshi to omoFu kokoro Fa ito ni yorarenan tiru Fana goto ni nukite todomemu | If regrets Within my heart should into threads Be spun, then Through every scattered blossom Would I sew to hold them here… |
Sosei
[1] It was taboo to record the personal names of noble women of high rank unless they were made empress. The Ninna 仁和 period began on the 11th day of the Third Month, 885, and lasted until the 30th day of the Fifth Month, 889. ‘Lady of the Bedchamber’ (miyasudokoro 御息所) was a title given to imperial consorts who had given birth to a prince, while ‘Middle Captain’ (chūjō 中将) was a military position in the palace guards. Contemporary readers would have been able to identify who the ‘Lady who had given birth to an imperial prince and whose father held the position of Middle Captain during the Ninna period’ was, but modern scholarship has not done so; nor have records of this poetry competition survived.
Composed after seeing some faded flowers.
花見れば心さへにぞうつりける色には出でじ人もこそしれ
| Fana mireba kokoro saFe ni zo uturikeru iro ni Fa ideji Fito mo koso sire | When I see these blooms Even my heart Does droop No tint must show upon my face, yet Others surely know… |
Mitsune
Left
心ゆく野路の旅寝の友なくはいとど都や恋しからまし
| kokoro yuku noji no tabine no tomo naku wa itodo miyako ya koishikaramashi | To ease my heart While sleeping on my travels ‘tween the fields I have no friend at all, so How much more the capital Does seem dear to me now! |
Lord Kanemune
1155
Right (Win)
立ち宿る一夜ばかりの契だにさてながらふる人もある世を
| tachiyadoru hitoyo bakari no chigiri dani sate nagarauru hito mo aru yo o | Lodging on one’s travels, For just a single night, A love That lasts with A lady does happen sometimes, yet… |
Nobusada
1156
The Right state: the Left’s poem has no entertainers, or conception of love, either. The Left state: the Right’s poem lacks entertainers.
In judgement: it seems that the Gentlemen of both teams have already stated that both poems lack the conception of Love. However, they seem to me to both capture the conception of entertainers. The Right’s configuration and conception are fine. It should win, I think.
Left
頼むなるあさけ神しも幣はせん君が心やわれになびくと
| tanomu naru asake kami shimo nusa wa sen kimi ga kokoro ya ware ni nabiku to | Worship she does The goddess Asake, so should even I make her an offering? Then might my lady’s heart Trail in my direction… |
Kenshō
1153
Right (Win)
鏡山君に心やうつるらむいそぎ立たれぬ旅衣かな
| kagamiyama kimi ni kokoro ya utsururamu isogi tatarenu tabigoromo kana | Upon Mirror Mount Has my heart Found lodging? For In haste to rise and don My travelling garb, I am not! |
Lord Tsune’ie
1154
Left and Right state: there are no faults to mention in either poem.
In judgement: both Left and Right here refer to a ‘person’ (kimi), with the Left’s ‘making her an offering’ (nusa wa sen) that she might ‘trail in my direction’ (ware ni nabiku ya), while the Right’s has left his heart on Mirror Mount and ‘is not in haste to rise and don his travelling garb’ (isogi tatarenu tabigoromo): each of these poems is evocative, and makes effective use of wordplay, with the Left’s ‘make her an offering’ certainly resembling something I have come across previously, but the initial ‘goddess Asake’ is poor. The Right’s ‘Mirror Mount’ (kagami yama) is something I am familiar with, and this has a gentle tone. Thus, the Right wins.