Tag Archives: hearts

Koresada shinnō-ke uta’awase 19

なにしおはばしひてたのまむをみなへしひとのこころのあきはうくとも[1]

na ni shi owaba
shiite tanomamu
ominaeshi
hito no kokoro no
aki wa uku tomo
If the name fits, then
Strongly, would I ask you,
Maidenflower:
Though folk’s full hearts
In autumn, be cruel…

37

あきのよをひとりねたらむあまのがはふちせたどらずいざわたりなむ

aki no yo o
hitori netaramu
ama no kawa
fuchise tadorazu
iza watarinamu
On an autumn night,
I sleep alone, it seems, for
To the River of Heaven’s
Depths and shallows I will not make my way—
However can I cross them?

39


[1] Shinchokusenshū 242; also a minor variant occurs in Kokin rokujō (3368) なにしおはばしひてたのまんをみなへし花の心の秋はうくともna ni shi owaba / shiite tanomamu / ominaeshi / hana no kokoro no / aki wa uku tomo ‘If the name fits, then / Forcefully, would I trust you, / Maidenflower: / Though a flower’s heart / In autumn, be cruel…’ Tsurayuki.

Uhyōe shōjō sadafumi uta’awase 6

A wave of chill in the heart due to snow (依雪波心寒)

Left

わだづもにふるしら雪は消えながら波の心にさむさをぞそむ

wadadumi ni
furu sirayuki Fa
kienagara
nami no kokoro ni
samusa wo zo somu
Across the broad sea sweep
Falls white snow;
It vanishes, yet
The waves’ hearts are
Dyed with cold.

10

Right (Win)

ふる雪に波の心もさむからし風とかくれやへたにだによる

furu yuki ni
nami no kokoro mo
samukarashi
kaze to kakure ya
Feta ni dani yoru
With the falling snow
The waves’ hearts, too,
Must be so cold;
Do they hide from the wind
Rushing to the shore?

11[1]


[1]Minor variants on these poems appear in Fubokushō (XVIII: 7269) and (XVIII: 7268).

Love X: 11

Left (Tie)
東路や萱津の原の朝霧に起き別るらん袖はものかは

azumaji ya
kayatsu no hara no
asagiri ni
okiwakaruran
sode wa mono ka wa
On the eastern roads,
Upon the field of Kayatsu
With the morning mists
Does he rise and part, but
Are his sleeves as mine?

Lord Ari’ie
1161

Right
さまざまにうつる心も鏡山影見ぬ人を恋ふるものかは

samazama ni
utsuru kokoro mo
kagamiyama
kage minu hito o
kouru mono ka wa
Many
Hearts does she attract upon
Mirror Mount,
But with one whose face remains unseen
Would I fall in love?

Lord Takanobu
1162

The Right state: the Left’s poem is fine. The Left state: the Right’s poem has no faults to mention.

In judgement: both poems are certainly by men entranced by thoughts of player-girls. The configuration and diction of ‘are his sleeves as mine?’ (sode wa mono ka wa) and ‘would I fall in love?’ (kouru mono ka wa) are both not unpleasant. Thus, I make this a tie.

Love IX: 11

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.

Love VII: 26

Left.
人心緒絶えの橋に立かへり木の葉降りしく秋の通ひ路

hito kokoro
odae no hashi ni
tachikaeri
ko no ha furishiku
aki no kayoiji
Our hearts
On the broken bridge at Odae
Do stand;
Fallen leaves swept along
The autumn paths back and forth…

Lord Sada’ie.
1011

Right.
思はずに緒絶えの橋と成ぬれどなを人知れず戀わたるかな

omowazu ni
odae no hashi to
narinuredo
nao hito shirezu
koi watarukana
Unthinkingly
To the broken bridge of Odae
Have we come, yet
Still, unknown to all,
Might our love make a crossing?

Lord Tsune’ie.
1012

The Gentlemen of the Right state: we wonder about the purpose of ‘fallen leaves swept along’ (ko no ha furishiku) in the Left’s poem. The Gentlemen of the Left state: the Right’s poem is pedestrian.

In judgement: Both the poems of the Left and of the Right use ‘bridge of Odae’ (odae no hashi) which is tasteful. The Left’s ‘fallen leaves swept along’ must be following Ise Monogatari. The gentlemen of the Right must surely be pretending ignorance! The poem of the Right, too, has an elegant total configuration, but ‘unknown to all’ (hito shirezu) is at odds with the emotional overtones. Thus the Left’s ‘fallen leaves swept along the autumn paths back and forth’ is better. I make it the winner.

Minbukyō yukihira uta’awase 6

Left
時鳥雲井の声を聞く人は心も空になりぞしにける

Fototogisu
kumowi no kowe wo
kiku Fito Fa
kokoro mo sora ni
nari zo sinikeru
A cuckoo
From the clouds your call
Folk hear, and
Their hearts with the skies
One do become!

11

Right (Win)
小夜更けて起きて待たずば時鳥はつかなる音もいかで聞かまし

sayo Fukete
okite matazuba
Fototogisu
Fatukanaru ne mo
ikade kikamasi
A brief night dawns, and
Had I not awaited to arise
A cuckoo’s
Momentary cry
Somehow I might have heard…

12

GSIS IV: 300

At a time when she was living with relatives, and the bush-clover was blooming particularly beautifully, the master of the house was somewhere else and not communicating, so she sent this to him.

白露も心おきてや思ふらむぬしもたづねぬやどの秋はぎ

siratuyu mo
kokoro okite ya
omoFuramu
nusi mo tasunenu
yado no aki Fagi
Silver dewdrops
Also fall on their hearts
I feel;
As the master pays no call
On his dwelling’s autumn bush-clover.

Chikuzen Wet Nurse
筑前乳母