Round Twenty-One
Left (Win)
小倉山木木のもみぢのくれなゐはみねの嵐のおろすなりけり
ogurayama kigi no momiji no kurenai wa mine no arashi no orosu narikeri On gloomy Mount Ogura The leaves upon the trees, So scarlet, By the storm wind from the peak Are tossed down.
Lord Kiyosuke 41
Right
ふかくあさきもみぢばながるあすか河ふちせは色にあらはれにけり
fukaku asaki momijiba nagaru asukagawa fuchise wa iro ni arawarenikeri Across both depths and shallows Flow the scarlet leaves On the Asuka river, Among the rapids and the pools Have they appeared.
Shun’e 42
Neither of these is bad. The Right violates the five syllable pattern; the Left has no faults.
五月雨の雲のかかれるまきもくのひばらが峰になくほととぎす
samidare no kumo no kakareru makimoku no hibara ga mine ni naku hototogisu Summer rain Clouds hang over Makimoku Peak where from the cypress groves A cuckoo calls.
Pheasants.
たかまどのをのへのきぎすあさなあさなつまに恋ひつつ鳴くねかなしも
takamado no onoe no kigisu asana asana tsuma ni koitsutsu naku ne kanashi mo On Takamado Peak a pheasant Morn after morn Is ever longing for his mate— O, how sad his sobbing cries!
Created with Soan.
At around the same time [Kenpō 4 (1216)] in summer, an impromptu composition.
つくばねのしげきの木のまかげはあれど秋にはかはる夏の夜の月
tsukubane no shigeki no ko no ma kage wa aredo aki ni wa kawaru natsu no yo no tsuki On the peak of Tsukuba Between the trees so lush Shadows fall, yet In autumn ‘twill be different— The moon this summer night.
Juntoku
Created with Soan .
Round Eleven
Left
しら雲の朝たつ山のからにしき枝に一むら春風ぞ吹く
shirakumo no asa tatsu yama no karanishiki eda ni hito mura harukaze zo fuku Clouds of white Arising with the morning on the mountain: Cathay brocade In a single bunch upon the branch Blown by the breeze of spring! [1]
Supernumerary Major Counsellor Moto’ie 21
Right (Win)
かづらきや嶺の桜のさきしより心の空にかかるしら雲
kazuragi ya mine no sakura no sakishi yori kokoro no sora ni kakaru shirakumo Upon Kazuragi Peak, the cherries Have bloomed and ever since The heavens of my heart are Draped with clouds of white.
Lord Nobunari 22
The Left’s poem has ‘Arising with the morning on the mountain: Cathay brocade in a single bunch upon the branch’ and, while it mentions spring breezes in its final section and does not fail to reflect the surface appearance of its source poem, conveys a feeling of scarlet leaves without mentioning blossom or cherry, which I have to say is something of a fault. The Right’s poem does not seem poor and lacks any faults worth mentioning, so it should win.
[1] An allusive variation on SIS IV: 220 .
Composed on blossom fallen on the water.
はなさそふあらしやみねをわたるらんさくらなみよるたにがはのみづ
Fana sasoFu arasi ya mine wo wataruran sakuranami yoru tanigaFa no midu Enticing the blossom Is it the storm wind upon the peak That passes o’er The cherry waves breaking In the waters of a valley stream?
Lord Minamoto no Masakane
Created with Soan .
Topic unknown.
たごのうらにうち出でてみればしろたへのふじのたかねに雪はふりつつ
tago no ura ni uchi’idete mireba shirotae no fuji no takane ni yuki wa furitsutsu From the bay at Tago I see, when gazing out, White as mulberry cloth On the heights of Fuji’s peak— The snow is ever falling.
Akahito
Created with Soan .
Winter.
たつた山みねのしぐれの糸よわみぬけどみだるるよもの紅葉葉
tatsutayama mine no shigure no ito yowami nukedo midaruru yomo no momijiba Upon Mount Tatsuta The showers on the peak Are fragile threads, indeed— They tug, yet leave confused The scarlet leaves everywhere…
Created with Soan .
Putting the syllables of ‘maidenflower’ (ominaFesi ) at the beginning of each line.
をぐら山みね立ちならしなくしかのへにける秋をしる人ぞなき
wo gurayamami ne tatinarasina ku sika noFe nikeru aki wosi ru Fito zo nakiOgura Mountain’s Peak seems trampled down by The belling stags: Many autumns’ passing— No one knows it as they do!
Tsurayuki
Autumn
秋のよを吹あげの峰の木がらしによこ雲しらぬ山のはの月
aki no yo o fukiage no mine no kogarashi ni yokogumo shiranu yama no ha no tsuki On an autumn night Above Fukiage peak To the chill wild wind’s Streaming clouds paying no heed is The moon upon the mountain’s edge.
Ietaka
Created with Soan .
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