On the conception of summer lover, when he held a poetry match at his house.
うつせみのなくねやよそにもりの露ほしあへぬ袖を人のとふまで
| utsusemi no naku ne ya yoso ni mori no tsuyu hoshiaenu sode o hito no tou made | A cicada shell of Cries, sobs distant as Dripping dewdrops in the forest— My sleeves never drying Until folk ask me why.. |
The Regent and Grand Minister
Snow
Round One
Left (Win)
たまのきにははそのもりもなりにけりふるしらゆきのきえぬかぎりは
| tama no ki ni hahaso no mori mo narinikeri furu shirayuki no kienu kagiri wa | Into trees of gems has The oak forest Turned While the falling snow Does not fade away… |
Lord Dainagon
43[i]
Right
ゆきふればあをばの山も見がくれてときはのきをやけさはをるらむ
| yuki fureba aoba no yama mo migakurete tokiwa no ki o ya kesa wa oruramu | Snow has fallen, so The verdant mountain Vanishes from sight— Might the evergreens Be broken the morning? |
Lord Chūnagon
44[ii]
The poem of the Left is entirely lacking in any interest. Isn’t this a sage’s jewelled tree? It really leaves me grief-stricken. The poem of the Right contains two faults in a single work. First, this is not the right time of year to be referring to a ‘verdant mountain’. Second, ‘vanishes from sight’ refers to disappearing in water. In the Collection of a Myriad Leaves ‘vanishing from sight’ is written as ‘hidden in the water’. Thus we have lines such as, ‘swarming frogs hiding in the weeds beneath the waves’. There are no prior poems mentioning ‘mountains vanishing from sight’ in either ancient or modern times.
On the matter of the ‘tree of gems’, I heard a long time ago that this might have appeared in an important source, but as this is something I know little about, even if this is a fault, it’s difficult for me to say anything about it. Well, in any case, it doesn’t sound bad. Would someone who knows all about this compose poorly? The Right’s poem lacks elegance, but it doesn’t sound like it has any other faults. It’s inferior to the Left only in ornamentation.
[i] Some sources identify Mototoshi as the composer of this poem.
[ii] This poem is included in Toshiyori’s personal collection, Sanboku kikashū (670), with the headnote, ‘Composed in place of someone for a poetry match in Nara’,
Round Two
Left
をちかたやくも井の山のほととぎすあまつよそにもなきわたるかな
| ochikata ya kumoi no yama no hototogisu ama tsu yoso ni mo nakiwataru kana | From the distant Mount within the clouds A cuckoo In yonder heavens Sings his song! |
Lord Saburō
17
Right
ほととぎすしのだのもりのしのびねをたづねざりせばいかできかまし
| hototogisu shinoda no mori no shinobine o tazunezariseba ikade kikamashi | A cuckoo In Shinoda’s sacred grove Lets out a hushed cry; Had I not come to visit here, How might I have heard it? |
Ushigimi
18
In regards the poem of the Left’s ‘from the distant’ and what follows, extremely recently and colloquially, at the Nakatomi purification ceremony it seems there was a composition, ‘in the distance, below the trees so lush’. This diction is contrary to the expected style of waka and something which occurs only extremely rarely. Truly, one does not compose using such diction in a poetry match. The poem of the Right has nothing of interest about it, yet it also lack faults to mention, so it wins.
This round, neither poem appears bad. The Left has a novel style, while the Right seems cliched, but its expression is smooth. I wonder if we could see these as a tie.
Round Forty
Left (Win)
山もとの杜のしめ縄ながきよを秋のをしかの鳴きあかすらん
| yamamoto no mori no shimenawa nagaki yo o aki no oshika no nakiakasuran | At the mountains’ foot lies A sacred grove with garlands Long as the nights In autumn when the stag Bells in the dawn. |
Tomoshige
79
Right
なよ竹のよながき秋の山風に幾たび鹿のね覚しつらん
| nayotake no yo nagaki aki no yamakaze ni ikutabi shika no nezameshitsuran | Green bamboo with Knots as apart as the autumn night is long, While with the mountain wind How many times might the stag Have awakened?[1] |
Dharma Master Zenshin
80
The Left’s poem has ‘at the mountains’ foot lies a sacred grove with garlands long as the nights’ which sounds pleasant. The Right has ‘knots as apart as the autumn night is long, while with the mountain wind’—these, too, seem to have no clear winner or loser, yet still, the Left should be superior and should win.[2]
[1] An allusive variation on: Composed when the gentlemen in the Crown Prince’s service were presented with wine, on the occasion of Tadafusa being appointed Secretary of an embassy to China, during the reign of the Kanpyō emperor. なよ竹のよながきうへにはつしものおきゐて物を思ふころかな nayotake no / yo nagaki ue ni / hatsushimo no / oki’ite mono o / omou koro kana ‘Green bamboo with / Knots as far apart as the night is long / While the first frost settles on my active / Thoughts these days!’ Fujiwara no Tadafusa (KKS XVIII: 993)
Round Twenty
Left (Win)
あけぼのは涙やもろき時鳥なくねにおつる杜の下露
| akenbono wa namida ya moroki hototogisu naku ne ni otsuru mori no shitazuyu | With the dawn Are you swiftly to tears moved By the cuckoo’s Calling cries, falling from The forest drip dewdrops? |
Dōchin
39
Right
今もかも昔やこふる橘の花ちる里になく郭公
| ima mo kamo mukashi ya kouru tachibana no hana chiru sato ni naku hototogisu | I wonder, is she now, As in days gone by, beloved Where orange Blossom falls on the estate— The calling cuckoo?[1] |
Dharma Master Nyokan
40
Both Left and Right are of the same quality, yet I wonder about the sound of the Right poem’s final section, so the Left wins.
[1] An allusive variation on: A poem by the Governor-General of Dazai, Lord Ōtomo. 橘の花散る里の霍公鳥片恋しつつ鳴く日しぞ多き tachibana no / hana chiru sato no / hototogisu / kata koishitsutsu / naku hi shi zo ōki ‘Orange / Blossom scatters round my estate where / The cuckoo / For unrequited love / Does cry on many a day…’ Ōtomo no Tabito (MYS VIII: 1473)
Round Eighteen
Left (Tie)
神さぶるなげきの森の時鳥ひくしめなはもなくなくやこし
| kamu saburu nageki no mori no hototogisu hiku shimenawa mo nakunaku ya koshi | In divine Nageki’s sacred grove Does the cuckoo to Where the holy garlands Are hung not, come to sing?[1] |
The Former Minister of the Centre
35
Right
さとわかずなけや五月の郭公忍びし比は恨みやはせし
| sato wakazu nake ya satsuki no hototogisu shinobishi koro wa urami ya wa seshi | In every hamlet Sing, O, Fifth Month Cuckoo! For when you chirped before, I did not hate you for it… |
Kozaishō
36
The Left’s poem is based on ‘Prayers / Alone I seem to hear at / This shrine, indeed, but / In the end, passion to grief’s / Grove will turn, no doubt…’ and sounds pleasant. The Right’s poem says ‘For when you chirped before, / I did not hate you for it’ and has a graceful style—thus, they tie.
[1] An allusive variation on: Topic unknown. ねぎ事をさのみききけむやしろこそはてはなげきのもりとなるらめnegigoto o / sanomi kikikemu / yashiro koso / hate wa nageki no / mori to narurame ‘Prayers / Alone I seem to hear at / This shrine, indeed, but / In the end, passion to grief’s / Grove will turn, no doubt…’ Sanuki (KKS XIX: 1055)
Round Eight
Left (Both Judges – Tie)
神無月三室の山の紅葉ばも色に出でぬべく降るしぐれかな
| kaminazuki mimuro no yama no momijaba mo iro ni idenubeku furu shigure kana | In the Godless Month On Mount Mimuro The autumn leaves Show no hues at all, despite The falling showers! |
Lord Morikata
15
Right
かみな月時雨れてわたるたびごとに生田の杜をおもひこそやれ
| kaminazuki shigurete wataru tabi goto ni ikuta no mori o omoi koso yare | In the Godless Month Showers pass by and Every time The sacred grove at Ikuta I do recall. |
Lord Tadataka
16
Toshiyori states: ‘Godless Month’ is the name given to a specific month of the year. It’s somewhat unclear why one would use ‘Godless Month’ in conjunction with ‘Mount Mimuro’ – is there a prior poem to evidence this? It’s quite normal for lines which would normally have five syllables to be written with six, or those with seven to have eight, and this can sound fine in some cases. Here, though, it does sound obviously excessive and I do wonder about that. The second poem is plainly based on an earlier work, and is not at all clear, but as it has precedent, these two are about the same.
Mototoshi states: neither of these poems appears bad, so I say they tie.
