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
Tag Archives: koi
Eikyū hyakushu 448
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
Love X: 28
Left
辰の市や日を待つ賤のそれならばあす知らぬ身にかにかへて逢ははまし
| tatsu no ichi ya hi o matsu shizu no sore naraba asu shiranu mi ni kaete awamashi | For Tatsu market’s Day, a peasant waits; If I were he In ignorance of the day to come I would trade places – for I would meet you! |
Lord Sada’ie
1195
Right (Win)
心ざし阿倍の市路に立つ人は恋に命をかへむとやする
| kokorozashi abe no ichiji ni tatsu hito wa koi ni inochi o kaemu to ya suru | Those feelings – On the road to Abe Market – Of someone standing there, Life for love Would he exchange, I wonder? |
The Supernumerary Master of the Empress’ Household Office
1196
The Right state: the conclusion of the Left is unacceptable given its beginning. The Left state: there is no natural flow in ‘those feelings – Abe’ (kokorozashi abe).
In judgement: with regard to the Left’s poem, the Gentlemen of the Right have already stated that the conclusion is unacceptable given its beginning. The Right’s poem, too, lacks natural flow in ‘those feelings – Abe’. Furthermore, the Left’s diction of stating ‘if I were he’ (sore naraba) and then ‘I would trade places – for I would meet you!’ (kaete awamashi) sounds rather tense, but ‘life for love’ (koi ni inochi) certainly has impact. Thus, the Right should win.
Love X: 24
Left (Win)
山深み歎きこる男のをのれのみ苦しくまどふ恋の道かな
| yama fukami nageki koru o no onore nomi kurushiku madou koi no michi kana | Deep within the mountains Felling trees, a woodsman’s Axe, my grief Leaves me in pained confusion On the paths of love… |
Lord Sada’ie
1187
Right
山人の帰る家路を思ふにも逢はぬ歎きぞ休むまもなき
| yamabito no kaeru ieji o omou ni mo awanu nageki zo yasumu ma mo naki | A mountain man, Homeward bound, Is in my thoughts, but Unable to meet with you grief Gives me no respite. |
Ietaka
1188
Left and Right together state: no faults to mention.
In judgement: the Left has a profound conception of love. The Right’s ‘homeward bound’ (kaeru ieji) and ‘unable to meet with you grief’ (awanu nageki) are extremely difficult to grasp, I think. The Left should win.
Love X: 23
Left (Tie)
我恋はしげきみ山の山人のさすがにえしもこりはてぬ哉
| wa ga koi wa shigeki miyama no yamabito no sasuga ni e shimo korihatenu kana | My love is Lush as a tree in the mountains’ heart; The mountain men with Their hatchets cannot even Begin to fell it! |
Ari’ie
1185
Right
秋かけてつま木こり積む山人ももゆる思の程は知らじな
| aki kakete tsumagi koritsumu yamabito mo moyuru omoi no hodo wa shiraji na | Into autumn Gathering piles of kindling Even a mountain man, The burning fires of my passion Can hardly know… |
Jakuren
1186
The Right state: in the Left’s poem, ‘hatchets’ (sasuga) fails to match properly. The Left state: the Right’s poem lacks faults to indicate.
In judgement: indeed, in the Left’s poem ‘hatchets’ does not sound like it matches properly. The Right’s poem has the initial ‘into autumn’ (aki kakete), but the conception of autumn does not sound necessary here. They are of the same quality.
Love X: 22
Left (Win)
斧の柄を何かあやしと思けんしばしの恋も袖は朽ちけり
| ono no e o nani ka ayashi to omoiken shibashi no koi mo sode wa kuchikeri | An axe haft – What is there strange in that I wonder? For with this brief love My sleeves have rotted… |
Kenshō
1183
Right
あさましや心をしほる山人も身におふ程の歎きをぞこる
| asamashi ya kokoro o shioru yamabito mo mi ni ou hodo no nageki o zo koru | How surprising! Heartbroken A woodcutter, too, Is burdened by The tree of grief he fells… |
Lord Takanobu
1184
Left and Right together state: we find no faults to mention.
In judgement: For the Left, I wonder how long a ‘brief love’ (shibashi no koi) lasts? For one’s sleeves to have rotted, surely a certain amount of time must have passed, but in configuration the poem is certainly elegant. The Right’s woodcutter (yamabito) sounds like he is saying rather too much about himself. The Left should win.
Love X: 20
Left (Win)
うら山し賤も妻木を立てつめりいつ休むべき恋にかあるらん
| urayamashi shizu mo tsumagi o tatetsumeri itsu yasumubeki koi ni ka aruran | How I envy The mountain man who kindling Has gathered all together! When, though, will I find respite From love? |
Lord Suetsune
1179
Right
思ひ出るかひもなければ山人はあはぬつま木にこりやしぬらん
| omoi’izuru kai mo nakereba yamabito wa awanu tsumagi ni kori ya shinuran | Remembering Deeply serves no point, but A mountain man I am not – unable to meet her – kindling Should I be cutting? |
Lord Tsune’ie
1180
Left and Right together state: we find no faults to indicate.
In judgement: although I wonder the extent to which the Left’s ‘how I envy’ (urayamashi) a mountain man resting is accurate, I also wonder whether this sort of back and forth upon the path is something which commonly appears, so the poem does not seem uninteresting. The Right’s ‘remembering deeply serves no point’ (omoi’izuru kai mo nakereba) does not sound particularly out of the ordinary. The Left wins somehow.
Love X: 14
Left (Win)
我恋はあまのさかてを打ち返し思ときてや世をも恨みん
| wa ga koi wa ama no sakate o uchikaeshi omoi tokite ya yo o mo uramin | My love: With my diver girl’s hands raised to heaven I cast back Knowing of these pains of love The world is all despair! |
Lord Kanemune
1167
Right
衣手はしほたるれどもみるめをばかづかぬ海人となりにけるかな
| koromode wa shiotaruredomo mirume o ba kazukanu ama to narinikeru kana | Though my sleeves Are drenched, as Unable to catch a glimpse of seaweed Like a hapless diver-girl Have I become. |
Lord Tsune’ie
1168
The Right state: there are various possible interpretations for ama no sakate. In addition, is it appropriate to compose a poem from the diver-girl’s perspective? The Left state: there is nothing to mention in the Right’s poem.
In judgement: the Left’s ama no sakate is not a particularly good expression, but I see no fault in composing from the diver-girl’s perspective. In recent times, people have come up with alternate interpretations for the phrase, but I see no reason for them. This old fool long ago composed a poem in this way. So I wonder, should I criticise my own composition? There is evidence for this in the Tales of Ise, and other texts, too. However, in poetry competitions, ama no sakate fails to sound appropriate. The Right’s diver-girl with sleeves drenched by the tide and unable to harvest seaweed seems incapable. She cannot be a genuine diver-girl. The Left’s sakate is not that elegant, but the girl is genuine. It wins.
Love X: 9
Left
うかれめの浮かれて歩く旅やかた住みつきがたき恋もする哉
| ukareme no ukarete ariku tabiyakata sumitsukigataki koi mo suru kana | Player girls do Drift around The inn-houses; As unsettled Is the love they make… |
Lord Suetsune
1157
Right (Win)
東路やゆききの人にうちとけて宿かりそめの契すらしも
| azumaji ya yukiki no hito ni uchitokete yado karisome no chigiri sura shimo | Along the Eastern Roads Folk go back and forth, and To relieve them, the girls Find brief lodging and even make brief Vows of love… |
The Supernumerary Master of the Empress’ Household Office
1158
The Right state: the Left’s poem has no matters we can criticize. The Left state: the conception of Love in the Right’s poem is vague.
In judgement: The Left’s poem seem certainly to capture the conceptions of both Love and player-girls. ‘Even’ (sura shimo) in the Right’s final section, sounds rather abrupt and portentous, but the initial section is certainly elegant. Thus, the Right should win.
Tadamichishū 139
Love and Grasses.
我が恋は隠れぬにおふる草なれや思ふ心を知る人のなき
| wa ga koi wa kakurenu ni ouru kusa nare ya omou kokoro o shiru hito no naki | Can my love Lie hidden in the growing Grasses? For the feelings in my heart Are known to no one at all… |
Fujiwara no Tadamichi