Left
梅の花香をばとどめて色をのみ年ふる人の袖にそむらむ
| mume no hana ka oba todomete iro o nomi toshi furu hito no sode ni somuramu | The plum blossoms’ Scent remains, while Their hues An aging man’s Sleeves do seem to dye. |
33
Right
あかずして過行く春の人ならばとくかへりこといはましものを
| akazushite sugiyuku haru no hito naraba toku kaeri koto iwamashi mono o | Unsated by The passing spring: If you are such a one, then Hastily return, is What I’d want to say. |
34
Left (Win)
住みなれし人はこずゑに絶えはてて琴の音にのみ通ふ松風
| suminareshi hito wa kozue ni taehatete koto no ne ni nomi kayou matsukaze |
Accustomed to his being here, Now, he comes not and from the treetops All that endures Are my zither’s strains, Blending with the pines. |
Lord Ari’ie
1103
Right
聞かじただつれなき人の琴の音にいとはず通ふ松の風をば
| kikaji tada tsurenaki hito no koto no ne ni itowazu kayou matsu no kaze o ba |
I will listen no more! To that cruel man’s Zither strains Heedlessly blending With the wind from off the pines… |
Nobusada
1104
The Right state: it sounds as if the man is enduring on the treetops. The Left state: ‘I will listen no more!’ (kikaji tada) is extremely coarse.
In judgement: while it may sound as if the man is enduring on the treetops in the Left’s poem, this is no more than a standard use of metaphorical expression, and the configuration of ‘accustomed to his being here, now, he comes not and from the treetops’ (suminareshi hito wa kozue ni) sounds fine, with the latter part of the poem also being elegant. The initial line of the Right’s poem has a conception of closing up the ears to block one’s auditory sense, which seems excessive. Clearly, the Left’s ‘my zither’s strains’ (koto no ne ni nomi) must win.
Left (Tie)
うらやましわがりこちくと笛の音を頼むる中の人は聞くらん
| urayamashi wagari kochiku to fue no ne o tanomuru naka no hito wa kikuran |
O, how I envious I am! To my house comes, a bamboo Flute’s strains – from A trustworthy, loving Man, it sounds… |
Lord Suetsune
1087
Right
より竹の君によりけんことぞ憂き一夜のふしに音のみ泣かれて
| yoritake no kimi ni yoriken koto zo uki hitoyo no fushi ni ne nomi nakarete |
Bamboo flotsam – That you should draw near Is cruel, indeed, for A single night together, brings Only the sound of weeping… |
Lord Tsune’ie
1088
‘Flotsam of bamboo’ (yoritake) and ‘comes, a bamboo’ (kochiku) are equally unsatisfying.
In judgement: ‘Flotsam of bamboo’ and ‘comes, a bamboo’ are of equal quality.
Left (Win)
忘らるゝ人に軒端の忍ぶ草涙の雨ぞ露けかりける
| wasuraruru hito ni nokiba no shinobugusa namida no ame zo tsuyukekarikeru |
Forgotten by Him, beneath my eaves The ferns bring back memories; A rain of tears Leaves them dew-drenched. |
Lord Kanemune
1021
Right
戀づまのやがて軒端になり行けばいとど忍ぶの草ぞ茂れる
| koizuma no yagate nokiba ni nariyukeba itodo shinobu no kusa zo shigereru |
My man is Far away; beneath my eaves Are the signs: How many memories and Ferns grow thickly… |
Lord Tsune’ie
1022
Both Left and Right state: we find no faults to mention.
In judgement: both poems refer to ‘memory ferns’ (shinobugusa), and there is not a great deal of difference in quality between them, but the Left’s ‘rain of tears’ (namida no ame), with its association of dew, is slightly better than the Right’s ‘ferns grow thickly’ (kusa zo shigereru), and so should win.
Left (Win).
さはらずは今宵ぞ君を頼むべき袖には雨の時わかねども
| sawarazu wa koyoi zo kimi o tanomubeki sode ni wa ame no toki wakanedomo | If you were unhindered On this night, then, my love, In you I could trust; But on my sleeves the rain Falls without surcease… |
Lord Sada’ie.
945
Right.
來ぬ人を待つ夜更け行秋の雨は袖にのみ降る心地こそすれ
| konu hito o matsu yo fukeyuku aki no ame wa sode ni nomi furu kokochi koso sure | When a man who fails to come Is awaited and the night grows late, The autumn rain Falls on my sleeves, alone – That is what I feel! |
Ietaka.
946
The Right state: the phrase ‘if you were unhindered’ (sawarazu wa) sounds poor. The Left state: the Right have simply composed a poem just like Lord Yorimasa’s君戀ふとながめあかせる夜の雨は袖にしも降る心地こそすれ kimi kou to / nagame akaseru / yoru no ame wa / sode ni shimo furu / kokochi koso sure ‘That you love me / I have heard enough / This night when the rain / Upon my sleeves especially does fall – / That is what I feel!’.
In judgement: the Left are said to have a poor-sounding phrase, and the Right to have referred to Yorimasa’s poem. That it is difficult to entirely avoid to referring poems outside of the anthologies is something which people still seem to be unable to remember, but the Gentlemen of the Left have recalled this well. The final section of the Right’s poem does bear an uncanny resemblance to Yorimasa’s poem. If there should be a prior example of a phrase’s use, then while it maybe poor-sounding, the Left should win.
Left (Tie).
つれもなき人をもさそへ夜はの月影ばかりだによそに見るやと
| tsure mo naki hito o mo sasoe yowa no tsuki kage bakari dani yoso ni miru ya to |
That heartless Man, will you invite O midnight Moon! Even just an image In the distance would I wish to see… |
Lord Suetsune.
905
Right.
秋の月妹が面影さそひきて我心にも宿すなりけり
| aki no tsuki imo ga omokage sasoikite wa ga kokoro ni mo yadosu narikeri |
The autumn moon My darling’s face Does bring to me, and Within my heart Has it found a place to stay. |
The Provisional Master of the Empress’ Household Office.
906
The Right state: if one is inviting someone to come and visit, then there is no reason to mention ‘just an image’ (kage bakari). We wonder whether the invitation is addressed to the sky? The Left state: the Right’s poem is pedestrian.
In judgement: both Left and Right have the same conception of an invitation addressed to the moon. The Round can only be a tie.