Bush clover
Left
しかのこゑたかさごやまのはぎなればをりてこしよりねをやなくらん
| shika no koe takasagoyama no hagi nareba oritekoshi yori ne o ya nakuran | A stag’s cry On Takasago Mountain, where Lies bush clover: Might someone have come and picked her That he lets out such cries? |
11
Right
あきはぎの花のながるるかはのせにしがらみかくるしかのねもせぬ
| akihagi no hana no nagaruru kawa no se ni shigarami kakuru shika no ne mo senu | Autumn bush clover Blooms flow down The river rapids and Hang upon the lattice weir, and The stag cries not at all… |
12
あふせをば流れてとこそたのめしかいかにとだにも音なしのたき
| ause oba nagarete to koso tanomeshi ka ika ni to dani mo otonashi no taki | Our meeting, like the rapids, Will flow on—can I Trust in that? However much they seem The silenced cataract of Otonashi… |
Lady Ki
39
すみわぶる名をながさじとつつむまにしばしよどむぞ音なしの滝
| sumiwaburu na no nagasaji to tsutsumu ma ni shibashi yodomu zo otonashi no taki | Living on in sorrow and Letting no word of it flow out— Thus wrapped up Briefly stilled has been The cataract of Otonashi. |
Supernumerary Minor Captain Morotoki
40
数ならで世に住江のみをつくしいつを待つともなき身なりけり
| kazu narade yo ni sumie no mi o tsukushi itsu o matsu tomo nakimi narikeri | Countless are The generations spent at Sumie, with The channel buoys: exhausted What should I await but To be dead. |
Master of the Left Capital Office Toshiyori
15
In reply
ながれてもあふせは絶えじ住江の身をつくしてもくちはててなん
| nagaretemo ause wa taeji sumie no mi o tsukushitemo kuchihatetenan | Flowing on, yet The rapids’ meetings will not cease; At Sumie with The channel buoys, you may be exhausted, but Would you rot away… |
Kazusa, in service to the Empress
16
あきのむしなどわびしげにこゑのするたのめしかげに露やもりくる
| aki no mushi nado wabishige ni koe no suru tanomeshi kage ni tsuyu ya morikuru | Why do the autumn insects And more let out plaintive Cries; Is your trustworthy face Drenched in dew? |
67
もみぢばのながれてゆけば山がはのあさきせだにもあきはふかみぬ
| momijiba no nagareteyukeba yamagawa no asaki se dani mo aki wa fukaminu | The scarlet leaves Have come flowing, so The mountain stream’s Shallow rapids—even they Are deep in autumn! |
68
Left (Tie).
吉野河はやき流れを堰く岩のつれなき中に身を砕くらん
| yoshinogawa hayaki nagare o seku iwa no tsurenaki naka ni mi o kudakuran |
The River Yoshino’s Swift flow is Dammed by boulders; With the chilling of our bond It seems my very self will shatter… |
A Servant Girl
995
Right.
ありとても逢はぬためしの名取川朽ちだにはてよ瀬せの埋れ木
| ari tote mo awanu tameshi no natorigawa kuchi dani hateyo sese no mumoregi |
We live, yet Cannot meet – our situation A source of rumours; in the River Natori Let all rot away with The drowned trees in the rapids! |
Jakuren.
996
Both Left and Right together state: we find no faults to mention.
In judgement: both poems are extremely good. This is a tie of quality.
Left (Tie).
雲井まで續きて見ゆわたつ海の行衛知られぬ物思かな
| kumoi made tsuzukite miyu wata tsu umi no yukue shirarenu mono’omoi kana |
Beyond the clouds My gaze goes on and on; The endless sea: What lies beyond is unknown As my gloomy thoughts… |
Lord Suetsune.
979
Right.
伊勢の海の潮瀬にさはぐさざれ石の砕けて物を思ふ比かな
| ise no umi no shiose ni sawagu sazare’ishi no kudakete mono o omou koro kana |
The sea at Ise: Raging rapids with the tides, Where pebbles Shatter, gloom Filling my thoughts these days… |
Ietaka.
980
The Right state: the Left’s poem is clichéd. The Left state: the Right’s poem is that of Shigeyuki.
In judgement: the Left’s poem is clichéd, but in addition to this uses ‘goes on and on’ (tsuzukite), which is not something one should say. The Right’s poem is, indeed, overly close to Shigeyuki’s, so both Left and Right poem are deficient and lacking in any element allowing a win.