Zithers 筝
まつかぜの吹くにかよひてことの音は秋のしらべの身にもしむかな
| matsukaze no fuku ni kayoite koto no ne wa aki no shirabe no mi ni mo shimu kana | The wind through pine trees Blowing blending with A zither’s notes— The melodies of autumn Do pierce my soul! |
Daishin
Tag Archives: ne
Eikyū hyakushu 686
Eikyū hyakushu 685
Eikyū hyakushu 683
Eikyū hyakushu 681
Eikyū hyakushu 452
MYS XIX: 4159
Poems composed on the ninth day of the Third Month, at the end of spring, when on the way to the village of Furue to oversee the distribution of seed rice to the poor, and observing blossom by the roadside. Poems composed at places of interest and put together.
A poem composed on seeing a tree upon the crags when passing the point at Shibutani. The tree was a tsumama.
礒の上のつままを見れば根を延へて年深からし神さびにけり
| iso no upe no tumama wo mireba ne wo papete tosi pukakarasi kamu sabinikeri | When upon the stony shore A hardy evergreen I see, Roots extending The length of its years, How venerable it is! |
Ōtomo no Yakamochi
大伴家持
Love IX: 12
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.
Love IX: 11
Left (Tie)
君ゆへもかなしき琴の音は立てつ子を思ふ鶴に通ふのみかは
| kimi yue mo kanashiki koto no ne wa tatetsu ko o omou tsuru ni kayou nomi ka wa |
For you In sadness has my zither Put forth strains, so Can a crane calling for her chick Be the only one to cry? |
A Servant Girl
1101
Right
よそになる人だにつらき琴の音に子を思ふ鶴も心知られて
| yoso ni naru hito dani tsuraki koto no ne ni ko o omou tsuru mo kokoro shirarete |
Strangers to me – Even they the pain Within my zither’s strains, As a crane calling for her chick, Feel in their hearts! |
Ietaka
1102
Left and Right together: no faults to mention.
In judgement: both Left and Right mention ‘a crane calling for her chick’ (ko o omou tsuru). This would appear to be after the conception of the pentachord in Bai’s Works: ‘The third and fourth strings are chill, and at night a crane, loving her chick, calls from her cage.’ This is not the usual zither with seven strings, but it is certainly also a kind of zither. In the topic ‘On Zithers’ there is certainly no issue with alluding to Japanese zithers or Chinese ones, is there? In any case, neither poem seems greatly inferior or superior, so the round ties.
Love IX: 10
Left (Win)
あはれとて聞き知る人はなけれども恋しき琴の音こそ絶えせね
| aware tote kikishiru hito wa nakeredomo koishiki koto no ne koso taesene |
To be moved By hearing is there No one, yet My beloved zither’s Strains sound on and on… |
Kenshō
1099
Right
なをざりにはかなくすさむ琴の音もまつには通ふ物とこそ聞け
| naozari ni hakanaku susamu koto no ne mo matsu ni wa kayou mono to koso kike |
Carelessly and Wildly plucked My zither’s strains Blend with the pines I had heard… |
Lord Takanobu
1100
The Right state: the Left’s poem has no faults to mention. The Left state: the Right’s poem is not bad.
In judgement: both Gentlemen’s ‘zithers’ (koto) appear to be equally elegant, and the Right has a fine final section. The Left seems pleasant in both the initial and latter sections. So, the Left wins.