Love and Smoke, for a Fifty Poem Sequence at the residence of the Lay Priest Prince of the Second Order.
うらみじな難波のみつにたつけぶり心からたくあまのもしほ火
| uramiji na naniwa no mitsu ni tatsu keburi kokoro kara taku ama no moshiobi | I cannot hate her, can I? From Naniwa harbour The smoke arising is Kindled in my heart as Fisherfolk’s seaweed-salt fires…[i] |
Consultant Masatsune
[i] An allusive variation on KKS XVII: 894.
Topic unknown.
をしてるやなにはのみつにやくしほのからくも我はおいにけるかな
| wositeru ya naniFa no mitu ni yaku siFo no karaku mo ware Fa oinikeru kana | Brightly shining is Naniwa harbour where Burning salt is Dried hard for me to have Grown old! |
An alternate version is:
おほとものみつのはまべに
| oFotomo no mitu no Famabe ni | In Ōtomo On the harbour beachside |
Anonymous
Composed when the former Teishi Emperor made a progress to Naniwa.
君がため波の玉しくみつの浜ゆき過ぎがたしおりてひろはん
| kimi ga tame nami no tamashiku mitsu no hama yukisugigatashi orite hirowan | For my Lord’s sake The waves scatter gems On the beach at Mitsu— So hard it is to pass them by I would disembark and gather them up! |
Prince Sadakazu
Left.
石川や瀬見の小川に齋串立て祈ぎし逢ふ瀬は神にまかせつ
| ishikawa ya semi no ogawa ni igushi tate negishi au se wa kami ni makasetsu |
In Ishikawa At Semi Stream Will I plant a prayer stake; Whether we shall meet I entrust to the gods! |
667
Right (Win).
思かねその木のもとに木綿かけて戀こそ渡れ御津川の橋
| omoikane sono ki no moto ni yū kakete koi koso watare mitsukawa no hashi |
I cannot bear this feeling, so The base of this tree I’ll garland That my love may cross The bridge over Mitsu River. |
668
Both the Left and Right state they find no particular fault with the opposing poem.
Shunzei’s judgement: the Left’s reference to prayer stakes is pretentious, but the final section ‘I entrust to the gods!’ (kami ni makasetsu) lacks resonance. The final line of the Right’s poem sounds fine [yoroshiku kikoyu]. It should win.
A poem Yamanoe no Okura composed when in China, and thinking of home.
去来子等 早日本邊 大伴乃 御津乃濱松 待戀奴良武
いざ子ども早く大和へ大伴の御津の濱松待ち戀ひぬらむ
| iza kodomo payaku yamato pe opotomo no mitu no pama matu matikopinuramu | Hey, now, everyone! Let’s haste back to Yamato! In Ōtomo Upon the beach at Mitsu, the pines Must long for our return… |
Left (Tie).
雪折の竹の下道跡もなし荒れにしのちの深草の里
| yuki ore no take no shitamichi ato mo nashi arenishi nochi no fukakusa no sato |
Snow-snapped Bamboo trails Bear no tracks After the storm At the estate of Fukakusa. |
95
Right
大伴の御津の濱風吹はらへ松とも見えじうづむ白雪
| ōtomo no mitsu no hama kaze fukiharae matsu tomo mieji uzumu shirayuki |
In Ōtomo Upon the beach at Mitsu, wind, Blow clean The pines, for they seem unlike themselves, Buried in drifted snow. |
96