To say that from now on they should rest and relax in the pines’ shade, when he visited someone’s house.
かげにとて立ちかくるれば唐衣ぬれぬ雨ふるまつの声かな
| kage ni tote tachikakurureba karakoromo nurenu ame furu matsu no koe kana | In the shade, I say, To stand and hide myself away, for Upon my Cathay robe Will fall soughing rain— The sound of pines! |
Tsurayuki
Topic unknown.
しぐれの雨まなくしふればまきの葉もあらそひかねて色づきにけり
| shigure no ame ma nakushi fureba maki no ha mo arasoikanete irozukinikeri | Showers of rain Fall without respite, so Even evergreens’ leaves Can fight no longer, and Take on a hint of colour. |
Hitomaro[i]
[i] This poem appears in Man’yōshū (X: 2196) where it is not attributed to a named poet, so the attribution to Hitomaro here is probably spurious.
On passing through Tokiwa Grove at the beginning of the Tenth Month.
しぐれの雨そめかねてけり山しろのときはのもりの槙の下ばは
| shigure no ame somekanetekeri yamashiro no tokiwa no mori no maki no shitaba wa | Showers of rain Cannot dye In Yamashiro Sempiternal Tokiwa Grove’s Evergreen underleaves…[i] |
Dharma Master Nōin
[i] An allusive variation on: 四具礼能雨 無間之零者 真木葉毛 争不勝而 色付尓家里 shigure no ame / ma nakushi fureba / maki no pa mo / arasoikanete / irozukinikeri ‘Showers of rain / Fall without respite, so / Even evergreens’ leaves / Can fight no longer, and / Take on a hint of colour.’ Anonymous (Man’yōshū X: 2196)
Composed after I had met Dharma Eye Teinin,[i] and heard him tell the tale of Ōmine[ii] among other things.
| okuyama no koke no koromo ni oku tsuyu wa namida no ame no shizuku narikeri | Deep within the mountains Upon his robe of moss The falling dewdrops are A rain of tear Droplets. |
613
[i] Teinin 定忍 has not been identified, but from the context here, he must have been a yamabushi 山伏, an itinerant Buddhist monk and practitioner of shugendō.
[ii] Ōmine 大峰 was a mountain in Yoshino in Yamato which was a major location for practitioners of the ascetic Buddhist practice of shugendō 修験道, which involved, among other things, ascending the mountain to increase one’s spiritual power.
Round Twelve
Left (T – Win)
柞原紅ふかく染めてけり時雨の雨はいろなけれども
| hahasowara kurenai fukaku sometekeri shigure no ame wa iro nakeredomo | The oak groves Deeply scarlet Have been dyed, Though the rain shower Lacks any hue at all… |
Lord Shigemoto
23
Right (M – Win)
山里はならのから葉の散敷きてしぐれの音もはげしかりけり
| yamazato wa nara no karaba no chirishikite shigure no oto mo hageshikarikeri | My mountain retreat has The oaks’ withered leaves Scattered and spread around, so The sound of showers is all The more severe. |
Lord Tamezane
24
Toshiyori states: the ‘oak grove’ poem, saying that plants fade and autumn leaves are dyed by things like dew and frost is as unremarkable as saying that one’s sweetheart’s skirt trails down. The ‘mountain retreat’ poem has ‘the oaks’ withered leaves’ and this is problematic. It would certainly have been better to avoid using ‘withered leaves’. In addition, I wonder about saying ‘the sound of showers is severe’? I feel it would be better to use this when looking down on the stony valley gate from the high peak of Mount Arachi. The first poem is slightly superior.
Mototoshi states; the poems of Left and Right are about the same quality, but the Left’s poem lacks a conception of showers and is entirely a poem on scarlet leaves, so in the current context ‘oaks’ withered leaves’ is slightly superior.
Round Eleven
Left
さごろもの袂はせばしかづけども時雨の雨は心してふれ
| sagoromo no tamoto wa sebashi kazukedomo shigure no ame wa kokoroshite fure | My night robe’s Sleeves are narrow: I cover myself, yet, O rain shower, Fall with care! |
Lord Toshitaka
21
Right (Both Judges – Win)
はつ時雨音信しより水ぐきの岡の梢の色をしぞ思ふ
| hatsushigure otozureshi yori mizuguki no oka no kozue no iro o shi zo omou | Since the first shower Came to call, Mizuguki Hill’s treetops’ Hues fill my thoughts… |
Lord Tokimasa
22
Toshiyori states: the poem on night robes has ‘Fall with care!’ – is this expressing regret over getting wet? In addition, there’s ‘I cover myself, yet’: it would have been preferable to have this element first. The poem on the ‘first shower’ is not that remarkable, yet it does sound smooth. ‘Hues fill my thoughts’ feels conspicuously old-fashioned, and yet composing using ‘Mizuguki’ seem superior.
Mototoshi states: what on earth is the poet doing saying his ‘night robe’ is ‘narrow’? In the Code of the Shijō Major Counsellor this is indicted to be a bad thing—‘a shallow poem with weighty words’! The poem of the Right has ‘Since the first shower / Came to call’ and I feel that this is how a poem on showers ought to be. Saying ‘Hill’s treetops’ / Hues fill my thoughts’ is a bit trite, but still charming, so this is superior, isn’t it.
