Composed to send off Ōe no Chifuru when he went to Koshi.
君がゆくこしのしら山しらねども雪のまにまにあとはたづねむ
| kimi ga yuku kosi no sirayama siranedomo yuki no manimani ato Fa tadunemu | My Lord, you go To the mountains, so white, of Koshi— I know them not, yet While the snow endures Would I seek your trail. |
Lord Fujiwara no Kanesuke
[One of] Six poems new poems to harmonise and follow those on plum blossom, when he was at Dazai.
民布由都芸 芳流波吉多礼登 烏梅能芳奈 君尓之安良祢婆 遠久人毛奈之
みふゆつぎ はるはきたれど うめのはな きみにしあらねば おくひともなし
| mipuyu tugi paru pa kitaredo ume no pana kimi ni si araneba oku pito mo nasi | After deep winter’s passing Spring has come, and yet The plum blossom Is not you, my love, so There’s no one to beckon me here… |
Ōtomo no Fumimochi
Maidens spinning thread
Left
てにかけてくるなつごとにわぎもこがおほくのいとをひきてけるかな
| te ni kakete kuru natsu goto ni wagimoko ga ōku no ito o hikitekeru kana | Through her hands a’running Again, with every summer’s coming, My darling girl So much thread Has spun! |
7
Right
てもたゆくひきおくいとのたえまなくきみがみちよのさかゆべきかな
| te mo tayuku hiki’oku ito no taemanaku kimi ga michiyo no sakayubeki kana | Her weary hands A’spinning thread, Never ending My Lord’s reign through three thousand years Of prosperity! |
8
‘Maidens spinning’ is about their expertise at it, and is not something that you need to need to ponder over and over like a peasant’s hempen thread or struggle to pull apart like a hardened silk cocoon, but both Left and Right really seem to have spun things out, and I feel that, although there’s an air of elegance to start with, the diction at the end of both poems is confused, so I would make these a tie.
| hidari migi hiku te mo tayuku tatsu ito wa izukata e ka wa yorubekaruran | Left and Right, The hands spinning wearily, Produce thread that Heads off but, I wonder where to? |
Judge 4
Mugwort in the Grounds[i]
Left
よろづよもときはならなんけふのためいはひておほすそののよもぎは
| yorozuyo mo tokiwa naranan kyō no tame iwaite ōsu sono no yomogi wa | For ten thousand ages more Evergreen, I would you be! For today’s Celebration, lushly growing Mugwort in the grounds… |
3
Right
そののうちにおふるよもぎのえだしげみすゑさかゆべくみゆるきみかな
| sono no uchi ni ouru yomogi no eda shigemi sue sakayubeku miyuru kimi kana | Within the grounds A’growing, the mugwort’s Branches are lush To the very end they flourish, As do you appear to, my Lord! |
4
In ancient times, folk arose on this day with the dawn together with the birds and, taking those branches of mugwort from within their grounds that resembled people, dried them in the shade and made medicinal draughts—I wonder, were both Left and Right unaware of this? There is not even a dewdrop’s worth of diction in accordance with the topic, so I must make this round a tie.
かたかたにとるかたもなきよもぎぐさひとかずならぬここちこそすれ
| katakata ni toru kata mo naki yomogigusa hito kazu naranu kokochi koso sure | Both sides say Nothing noteworthy about Mugwort plants,so Neither is worth much, I feel! |
Judge 2
[i] Sono no naka no yomogi 園中蓬
Left
きみをわれおきてしゆけばあさつゆのきえかへりてもあはむとぞおもふ
| kimi o ware okiteshi yukeba asatsuyu no kiekaerite mo awamu to zo omou | With you, my love, I Having risen and departed With the morning dew, Vanishing away, only To meet once more, I feel. |
28
Right
あさぼらけあかぬわかれをわびつつもゆふぐれをこそなぐさめにすれ
| asaborake akanu wakare o wabitsutsu mo yūgure o koso nagusame ni sure | At the pale edge of dawn, Unsatisfied, parting Leaves me ever desolate— The evening is sure to be My consolation! |
29
Left
ねざめつつみをうぐひすのねをぞなくはなさかりにしきみをこふれば
| nezametsutsu mi o uguisu no ne o zo naku hana sakarinishi kimi o koureba | Every time I wake, My flesh, as a warbler, Lets out sobbing cries, For, fair as a blossom in bloom, It is you I long for, my lady… |
7
Right
ことにいでてなにかいふべきねざめつつこふるしたひもそらにとくらむ
| koto ni idete nani ka iubeku nezametsutsu kouru shitahimo sora ni tokuramu | To put it into words, What is there I can say? Every time I wake, Your underbelt, which I want so, Seems to be loosening in the skies alone. |
8
Round Seven
Left
かすがやまちえにさかゆるさかきばはよろづよまでのきみがためか
| kasugayama chie ni sakayuru sakakiba wa yorozuyo made no kimi ga tame ka | Upon Kasuga Mountain A thousand branches grow, Leafy, on the sacred tree— Until ten thousand ages pass Will they ward my Lord! |
Lady Kazusa
69
Right
君がよはいふかぎりなしみよしののこがねがみねにみよをまつまで
| kimi ga yo wa iu kagiri nashi miyoshino no kogane ga mine ni miyo o matsu made | My Lord’s reign— Words cannot describe: ‘til fair Yoshino’s Golden peak’s Age one must await! |
Lady Shikibu
70
The poem of the Left seems poetic to an extraordinarily outlandish degree! The poem of the Right’s ‘‘til fair Yoshino’s / Golden peak’s / Age one must await!’ has a sufficient conception of felicitation. Thus, these tie.
That the Left is addressed to Mount Kasuga is highly admirable. Is the Right’s ‘golden peak’ a reference to Mount Mitake? It’s very difficult to say anything profound here. Arbitrarily, I would make this a tie—the quality of the poems makes that seem right.
Round Six
Left (Win)
うれしさはおほつのはまにたつなみのかずもしられぬきみがみよかな
| ureshisa wa ōtsu no hama ni tatsu nami no kazu mo shirarenu kimi ga miyo kana | My joy is Great, as upon Ōtsu Beach Break waves In numbers quite unknown, Such is my Lord’s reign most fair! |
Cell of Fragrant Cloud
67
Right
かすがやまみねのしらがしよろづよをきみにといへばかみもいさめず
| kasugayama mine no shiragashi yorozuyo o kimi ni to ieba kami mo isamezu | Kasuga Mountain has White-barked evergreen oaks upon its peak: ‘Ten thousand generations For my Lord!’—should I say that, The God will surely not refuse! |
Cell of Compassionate Light
68
The poem of the Left’s ‘Great, as upon Ōtsu Beach’ and what follows is something that sounds grievously prosaic. With that said, there are many parts of the poem which are not. What is the poem of the Right’s ‘White-barked evergreen oaks on its peak / Ten thousand generations’ linked with in the remainder of the poem? I wonder what it’s composed about… The Left doesn’t contain any errors, so I still say it wins.
The Left’s poem, as I have said in an earlier round, appears to lack smoothness. Is the poem of the Right’s ‘white-barked evergreen oaks’ a long-standing expression? I can’t seem to recall a prior precedent. ‘The God will surely not refuse’ is vague, too. Is it asking the deity’s favour for the speaker? While I am somewhat hesitant, given my appallingly constricted knowledge, I will, fearfully, say that this is inferior.
Round Five
Left
君がよはながゐのうらのはまかぜにたつしらなみのかずもしられず
| kimi ga yo wa nagai no ura no hamakaze ni tatsu shiranami no kazu mo shirarezu | My Lord’s reign: At Nagai Bay The beach breezes Rouse the whitecaps In number entirely unknown. |
Controller’s Graduate
65
Right
きみがよをまつちのやまのこまつばらちよのけしきを見るぞうれしき
| kimi ga yo o matsuchi no yama no komatsubara chiyo no keshiki o miru zo ureshiki | My Lord’s reign Awaiting upon Matsuchi Mountain The pine seedling groves The sight for a thousand ages Joyfully will see! |
Kerin’in Graduate
66
It’s impossible to decide on a winner or loser between the Left and the Right here in terms of conception, diction and overall style. To put it in general terms, I must make this round a further tie.
Neither Left nor Right is remarkable, but nor do they have any faults to mention. I’d make this round a tie.
