Composed on the conception of snow at one’s lodgings when travelling.
松がねにをばなかりしきよもすがらかたしく袖に雪はふりつつ
| matsu ga ne ni obana karishiki yo mo sugara katashiku sode ni yuki wa furitsutsu | Upon the pine tree’s roots Reaped silver grass I’ve spread, and All through the night Atop my single spread sleeves The snow is ever falling… |
Master of the Palace Repairs Office Akisue
A poem by His Majesty, the Retired Emperor [Genshō].
波太須珠寸 尾花逆葺 黒木用 造有室者 迄萬代
はだすすき尾花逆葺き黒木もち造れる室は万代までに
| hadasusuki obana sakapuki kuroki moti tukureru muro pa yoroduyo made ni | Silver Grass, reversed, for thatch, and With unbarked lumber Made, this rude dwelling For ten thousand generations, surely will endure… |
[One of] two poems composed by Yamanoue no Okura listing the flowers of the autumn fields.
芽之花 乎花葛花 瞿麦之花 姫部志 又藤袴 朝皃之花
萩の花尾花葛花なでしこの花をみなへしまた藤袴朝顔の花
| pagi no pana wobana kudupana nadesiko no pana wominapesi mata pudibakama asagapo no pana | Bush clover blooms, Silver grass and kudzu, Pinks, Valerian And fujibakama, Morning glory blooms. |
Yamanoue no Okura
山上憶良
Left (Win).
萩の葉にかはりし風の秋の聲やがて野分の露砕く也
| hagi no ha ni kawarishi kaze no aki no koe yagate nowaki no tsuyu kudakunari |
Bush clover leaves Brushed by the breeze Speak of autumn; Swift comes the gale, Scattering dewdrops… |
355
Right.
靡き行く尾花が末に浪越えて眞野の野分に續く濱風
| nabikiyuku obana ga sue ni nami koete mano no nowaki ni tsuzuku hamakaze |
Streaming Miscanthus fronds Wave At Mano in the gales Born from breezes off the beaches. |
356
The Left’s ‘speak of autumn’ (aki no koe) and the Right’s ‘born from’ (tsuzuku) are each found unsatisfactory by the opposing team.
Shunzei states, ‘Both the poems of the Left and Right have been found unsatisfactory by a number of modern poets, and is this not reasonable? However, the Left’s “Brushed by the breeze speak of autumn” (kawarishi kaze no aki no koe) is particularly fine. The Right’s “born from” is not a turn of phrase which could be considered pleasant; starting with “streaming” (nabikiyuku) and then continuing to “breezes off the beaches” (hamakaze) which lead to “Mano in the gales” (mano no nowaki ni) suggests an implicit meaning, but the Left’s upper and lower sections are finer. It should win.’
Left (Win).
ひとり寢る葦の丸屋の下露に床を傡べて鶉鳴く也
| hitori nuru ashi no maruya no shimo tsuyu ni toko o narabete uzura nakunari |
Sleeping singly In a reed-roofed hut, Dripped with dew, Beside my bed The quails are crying. |
345
Right.
秋風に靡く尾花の夕露や鶉が閨の雨と散るらむ
| akikaze ni nabiku obana no yūzuyu ya uzura ga neya no ame to chiruramu |
In the autumn breeze Flutter fronds of silvergrass, Scattering dewdrops On the quails’ roost – How like rain… |
The Provisional Master of the Empress’ Household Office.
346
The Right state that the Left’s poem has no faults. The Left state that, ‘“On the quails’ roost – how like rain” (uzura ga neya no ame) suggests that this is what it actually is.’
Shunzei disagrees: ‘It is not the case that uzura ga neya no ame definitely implies that it is actually rain, particularly with the scene set by dew on silvergrass. However, “beside my bed” (toko o narabete) is particularly attractive in expression. It should win.’
霜枯は尾花踏み分行く鹿の聲こそ聞かぬ跡は見えけり
| shimogare wa obana fumiwake yuku shika no koe koso kikanu ato wa miekeri |
Frost-seared Miscanthus grass, pushed aside by A stag: I cannot hear his call, yet Here are his tracks. |