Singing Girls 妓女
からころもたちもはなれて朝夕にめかれずみれどあかぬいもかな
| karakoromo tachi mo hanarete asayū ni mekarezu miredo akanu imo kana | Her Cathay robe is Sewn so fine, that Morning and evening, too Endlessly, I see her, yet My darling does never sate me! |
Higo
Tag Archives: karakoromo
Eikyū hyakushu 524
Lakes 水海
色色のそでもかはるかからころもうちでの浜の波なきよせそ
| iroiro no sode mo kawaru karakoromo uchide no hama no nami na kiyose so | Many hues Do take on the sleeves Of my Cathay robe; Upon the beach where I set forth Break not so fiercely, o waves! |
Kanemasa
Eikyū hyakushu 434
Love Interrupted by a Single Night 隔一夜恋
たちまちにかはりしもせじから衣一夜ばかりに袖のぬるらん
| tachimachi ni kawarishi mo seji karakoromo hito yo bakari ni sode no nururan | A sudden Change will there be not – My Cathay robe For just this single night Will surely have soaked sleeves. |
Higo
Love IX: 22
Left (Tie)
恋そめし思ひの妻の色ぞそれ見にしむ春の花の衣手
| koisomeshi omoi no tsuma no iro zo sore mi ni shimu haru no hana no koromode |
The first flush of love’s Scarlet passion for her: A hue that Stains the flesh, as spring’s Blossoms do the sleeves… |
Lord Sada’ie
1123
Right
飽かざりしそのうつり香は唐衣恋をすすむる妻にぞ有りける
| akazarishi sono utsurika wa karakoromo koi o susumuru tsuma ni zo arikeru |
I cannot get enough of Her scent transferred to My Cathay robe: Love for her begins With a skirt! |
The Supernumerary Master of the Empress’ Household Office
1124
The Right state: both the conception and diction of the Left’s poem are unclear. The Left state: the Right’s poem, in addition to being commonplace, has ‘begins’ (susumuru) which is unimpressive.
In judgement: in the Left’s poem, while ‘blossoms do the sleeves’ (hana no koromode) is evocative, ‘a hue that’ (iro zo sore) is certainly extremely difficult to understand. In the Right’s poem, both ‘Cathay robe’ (karakoromo) and ‘with a skirt’ (tsuma ni zo arikeru) seem elegant, but I wonder about the impression of ‘her scent transferred’ (sono utsurika) and ‘begins’. It is unclear which poem is superior or inferior, so the round should tie.
Saishō chūjō kuninobu no ie no uta’awase 16
Left (Win).
我が恋は片裏染めの唐衣かへして寝るや色に見ゆるらむ
| wa ga koFi Fa kata’urazome no karakoromo kaFesite nuru ya iro ni miyurururamu |
For my love An inner-dyed Cathay robe I will reverse – in sleep, then, I wonder will I see passion’s hues? |
Shichirō 七郎
[Minamoto no Ie’yori 源家職]
31
Right.
寝ぬままに月を眺めて明かすかな闇には恋もなぐさかじかし
| nenu mama ni tuki wo nagamete akasu kana yami ni Fa koFi mo nagusamazikasi |
While sleepless I gaze upon the moon ‘til dawn! For in the darkness my love Would gain no consolation! |
Saburō 三郎
[Minamoto no Kanemasa 源兼昌]
32
Eikyū hyakushu 426
Hidden Love
しのぶともかかる涙にからころもあらはれぬべき心地こそすれ
| shinobutomo kakaru namida ni karakoromo arawarenubeki kokochi koso sure | I hide them, yet Dripping tears upon My Cathay robe Surely have appeared, Or so I feel! |
Minamoto no Kanemasa
源兼昌
MYS X: 2194
Composed on autumn leaves.
雁がねの来鳴きしなへに韓衣龍田の山はもみちそめたり
| kari ga ne no kinakisi nape ni kara koromo tatuta no yama pa momidi sometari |
The goose cries Have started coming, so A Cathay robe On Tatsuta Mountain Of scarlet leaves has just been laid. |
Tametadake shodo hyakushu 433
まきかへすほどにやあるらむ唐衣とをちのさとはうちたゆむなり
| makikaesu hodo ni ya aruramu karakoromo tōchi no sato wa uchitayumunari |
To fold it up I wonder is there enough to My Cathay robe; In far distant Tōchi Have I been remiss, indeed! |
SZS XIII: 820
Composed on the conception of swearing one’s love in the middle of the day:
涙にや朽ちはてなましから衣袖のひるまと頼めざりせば
| namida ni ya kutiFatenamasi karakoromo sode no Firuma to tanomezariseba |
With tears Completely rotted will be My Cathay robe For to daytime dry the sleeves There is no one I can trust. |
Nakahara no Kiyoshige
中原清重
Love II: 22
Left (Tie).
唐衣重ぬる契朽ちずして幾夜の露をうち拂ふらん
| karakoromo kasanuru chigiri kuchizushite iku yo no tsuyu o uchiharauran |
Cathay robes Piled together mark our vow Unbroken; How many night’s dewfall Will they sleep away? |
703
Right.
夜を重ねかへす衣のうらみても現までとは思はざりしを
| yo o kasane kaesu koromo no uramite mo utsutsu made to wa omowazarishi o |
Night piled on night With robes reversed and Hating you; That it would be real one day I never did imagine! |
704
Left and Right together state they find no faults worth mentioning.
Shunzei’s judgement: the Left seems to have taken a poem saying ‘truth has broken not, and now we meet again’ (shin’nyo kuchisezu aimitsuru kana) and deepened the conception. The Right, wearing clothes night after night and not thinking it would ‘become real’ (utsutsu made) seems a rather pointless activity. The poems are of the same quality.