Tag Archives: mune

Uda-in uta’awase 12

Regretting the Day of the Rat

Left

むねのひををしもぬかねばみだれおつるなみだのたまにかつぞけちつる

mune no hi o
o shimo nukaneba
midare’otsuru
namida no tama ni
katsu zo kechitsuru
The fire within my breast
Will not thread upon a string, but
My disorderly dripping
Gemstone tears will
Yet extinguish it.

Tsurayuki
23

Right (Win)

くらきよにともすほたるのむねのひををしもとけたるたまかとぞ見る

kuraki yo ni
tomosu hotaru no
mune no hi o
o shimo toketaru
tama ka zo zo miru
On a night so dark,
The kindled fireflies of
The fire within my breast;
Loosened from their string
As scattered gemstones they appear.

Tadamine
24

Uda-in uta’awase 1

The Day of the Rat (ne no hi 子日)

Left

ほのぼのとみねのひのまづさしつればむすばぬはるのゆきぞとけける

honobono to
mine no hi no mazu
sashitsureba
musubanu haru no
yuki zo tokekeru
Faintly,
Upon the peaks the sun first
Shines, then
Not fully frozen, the spring
Snow melts.

Tsurayuki
1

Right (Win)

かたこひをするがのふじのやまよりもむねのひのまづもえまさるかな

katakoi o
suruga no fuji no
yama yori mo
mune no hi no mazu
moemasaru kana
In love and unrequited,
More than Suruga’s Fuji
Mountain does
The fire in my breast, first
Burn all the greater!

Tomonori
2

Love IX: 18

Left
いとはれて胸やすからぬ思をば人の上にぞ書きうつしつる

itowarete
mune yasukaranu
omoi o ba
hito no ue ni zo
kakiutsushitsuru
Being despised
And my unquiet heart
Filled with feelings
Upon her
I paint them out!

Kenshō
1115

Right (Win)
いかにせん絵にかく妹にあらねどもまこと少き人心かな

ika ni sen
e ni kaku imo ni
aranedomo
makoto sukunaki
hitogokoro kana
What am I to do?
A lady painted in a picture
She is not, yet
How lacking are
Her feelings!

Nobusada
1116

The Right state: what is the Left’s poem about? In appeal: it reflects Changkang, who, feeling a woman living next door was beautiful, painted her and was then able to meet her. The Left state: the Right’s poem has no faults to mention.

In judgement: I, too, was unsure of the meaning of ‘my unquiet heart filled with feelings upon her’ (mune yasukaranu omoi woba hito no ue ni zo), and after reading the Left’s response, I am still unclear. In general, in these cases it is customary to cite the source of such things, and to hear of such wide reading is interesting indeed, but this is simply, ‘it reflects Changkang, who, feeling a woman living next door was beautiful, painted her and was then able to meet her’, so it would be difficult to locate within the usual Three Histories; furthermore, I have no recollection of a person named in this Chinese manner, and so an ignorant old man like myself can only ask, who is this Nagayasu? More importantly, though, I do not feel the conception of this poem is particularly well-matched to the topic. The Right’s ‘a lady painted in a picture’ (e ni kaku imo) is a little over-explicit, but ‘how lacking are’ (makoto sukunaki) would seem to be in the style of the Kazan Archbishop, and as I feel this is easier to understand than Nagayasu, I make the Right the winner.

Love VIII: 18

Left (Win)
鴨のゐる入江の浪を心にて胸と袖とにさはぐ戀かな

kamo no iru
irie no nami o
kokoro nite
mune to sode to ni
sawagu koi kana
Ducks flock on
The inlet’s waves
Within my heart, so
My breast and sleeves both
Are raucous with love!

Lord Sada’ie
1055

Right
佐保川の霧のまよひの程だにも妻もとむとて千鳥鳴夜を

saogawa no
kiri no mayoi no
hodo dani mo
tsuma motomu tote
chidori naku yo o
To the vernal river:
The mist brings confusion
And in its midst,
Seeking a mate,
A plover cries at night…

Jakuren
1056

The Gentlemen of the Right state: we wonder about the appropriateness of ‘my breast and sleeves both are raucous’ (mune to sode to ni sawagu)? The Left, in appeal, state: there is ‘the river-mouths of my sleeves’ (sode no minato) and ‘when I think, upon my breast’ (omoeba mune ni) so linking ‘breast’ and ‘sleeve’ is entirely uncontroversial. The Gentlemen of the Left state: we find no faults to mention in the Right’s poem.

In judgement: I understand the views of the Left’s poem held by both teams. It has also been said that the Right’s poem lacks faults. However, in ‘seeking a mate, a plover cries at night’ (tsuma motomu tote chidori naku yo o) only the two words ‘at night’ (yo o) have any conception of love. The remainder of the poem is simply about plovers, so there is little of love about it. ‘Breast and sleeves both’ (mune to sode to) should win.

Love III: 6

Left (Win).

袖の波胸の煙は誰も見よ君が憂き名の立つぞ悲しき

sode no nami
mune no kemuri wa
tare mo miyo
kimi ga ukina no
tatsu zo kanashiki
The waves upon my sleeves, and
The smoke rising from my breast –
Let all see them!
But should you, my love, be called heartless,
That would make me sad…

A Servant Girl.

731

Right.

うとからぬ人こそ今は恨みけれ忍びしほどの心強さを

utokaranu
hito koso ima wa
uramikere
shinobishi hodo no
kokorozuyosa o
My family and friends
Now I do
Despise:
For when our love was hidden,
They were all so cold…

Jakuren.

732

The Right state: the Left’s poem has no faults to indicate. The Left state: by prioritising the emotions of the relatives, the poem does not clearly express the conception of Love.

In judgement: the initial section of the Left’s poem sounds fine, but the final ‘would make me sad’ (kanashiki) is going too far. The Gentlemen of the Left have accurately described the faults of the Right’s poem, but beyond that there is nothing praiseworthy in the poem’s style, either. Thus I make the Left the winner.