Left.
唐土の見ず知らぬ世の人ばかり名にのみ聞きて止みねとや思ふ
morokoshi no
mizu shiranu yo no
hito bakari
na ni nomi kikite
yamine to ya omou |
Distant Cathay:
Unseen and unknown once was to
Folk – every one;
With the report of your name, alone,
Will our love be over? |
Lord Sada’ie.
635
Right.
いかにして露をば袖に誘ふらんまだ見ぬ里の萩の上風
ika ni shite
tsuyu o ba sode ni
sasouran
mada minu sato no
hagi no uwakaze |
What am I to do?
Dewfall to my sleeves
Has come, brought from
A dwelling, yet unseen,
By breeze upon the bush-clover… |
Jakuren.
636
The Right state that the Left’s use of ‘every one’ (bakari) connects poorly with the subsequent section [kakeawazu]. The Left state that the while the style of the Right’s poem seems elegant [sono tei yū ni niru to iedomo], ‘A dwelling, yet unseen bush-clover’ (mada minu sato no hagi) is hard to hear [kikigataku].
Shunzei’s judgement: ‘Distant Cathay unseen and unknown once’ (morokoshi no mizu shiranu yo) must be referring to the Three Histories and Eight Dynasties. This seems to be meaningful, but does not really indicate anything profound. As for ‘a dwelling, yet unseen bush-clover’, whichever way you look at it, it is modified by ‘dewfall has come’ (tsuyu o sasouran). However, the Left also has the recollection of Cathay, so the two poems are comparable.
Left (Win).
谷深みはるかに人をきくの露触れぬ袂よ何しほるらん
tani fukami
haruka ni hito o
kiku no tsuyu
furenu tamoto yo
nani shioruran |
Deep within the valley,
Of her, a distant
Word; no dew from the chrysanthemum
Has touched my sleeves, so
Why are they so damp? |
A Servant Girl.
633
Right.
君をのみ心づくしに企救の池言ひ出ぬより袖ぞ濡れぬる
kimi o nomi
kokoro zukushi ni
kiku no ike
ii’idenu yori
sode zo nurenuru |
Only you do
Fill the whole of my heart;
Word of the waters of Kiku Pond,
A mere mention and
My sleeves are soaked…. |
Lord Tsune’ie.
634
The Gentlemen of the Right state: the Left’s poem is without fault. The Gentlemen of the Left state: while the Right’s ‘Kiku Pond’ (kiku no ike) does have something novel about it, ‘a mere mention’ (ii’idenu) is pedestrian.
Shunzei’s judgement: The Left’s ‘chrysanthemum valley’ (kiku no tani) and the Right’s ‘chrysanthemum pond’ (kiku no ike) both along the same lines and seem to sound charming [okashiku koso kikoehaberumeredomo]; still, ‘no dew from the chrysanthemum has touched my sleeves’ (kiku no tsuyu furenu tamoto yo) seems a little more elegant to me now.
Left (Win).
名に立てる音羽の瀧も音にのみ聞くより袖の濡るゝ物かは
na ni tateru
otowa no taki mo
oto ni nomi
kiku yori sode no
nururu mono ka wa |
The name is known:
Otowa Falls
Sounds forth; and just
Hearing that
Is enough to soak my sleeves? Surely not! |
Lord Ari’ie.
631
Right.
鹿の音も嵐にたぐふ鐘の音も聞くよりこそは袖は濡れしか
shika no ne mo
arashi no taguu
kane no oto mo
kiku yori koso wa
sode wa nureshika |
The braying of the stags, and
With the storm wind
The tolling bells:
Hearing alone
Does soak my sleeves. |
Nobusada.
632
The Gentlemen of the Right state: there is nothing worth mentioning in the Left’s poem. The Gentlemen of the Left state: using ne (‘braying’) and oto (‘sound’) in the same poem is a fault [yamai].
Shunzei’s judgement: Both poems are tasteful in form [utazama wa yū] , but the Right’s does contain a fault, as the Left have stated. Thus, the Left should win.
Left.
いかでもと思し妹が有樣は語る人までなつかしきかな
ikade mo to
omoishi imo ga
arisama wa
kataru hito made
natsukashiki kana |
Somehow,
She has filled my thoughts, and
When she is described,
Even the one telling me
Seems more dear! |
Lord Kanemune.
629.
Right.
雲間より聲を殘して歸る鳫聞かずはかゝる眺めせましや
kumoma yori
koe o nokoshite
kaeru kari
kikazu wa kakaru
nagamesemashi ya |
From out the space between the clouds
Linger the cries
Of geese, homeward bound;
Had I not heard them,
I would not be so sunk in thought! |
Lord Takanobu.
630
The Gentlemen of the Right state: the use of the diction of ‘description’ (arisama) in the Left’s poem is inappropriate for the style of the poem. The Gentlemen of the Left state: the Right’s poem is no more than a pedestrian poem on homeward-bound geese.
Shunzei’s judgement: The Left certainly does sound most mundane and unpoetic. As for the Right, while it seems like an evocative poem addressed to the topic of homeward-bound geese, is it not difficult for geese, or people, to leave behind their cries? In addition, it is unclear what sort of thoughts it is that occupy the poet. Both poems’ style lacks clarity. Thus, they are comparable and the round must tie.
Left (Win).
聞わたる契りも深き縁あらば末も絶せじ中河の水
kikiwataru
chigiri mo fukaki
enishi araba
sue mo taeseji
nakagawa no mizu |
Word reaches me
Of a bond whose depth
Reaches the life before – should it be so
Then it will endure to the very end,
As do the waters of the Naka River! |
Kenshō.
627
Right.
見るめなき磯間隱れに寄る浪の音ばかりにも袖濡らせとや
mirume naki
isoma gakure ni
yoru nami no
oto bakari ni mo
sode nurase to ya |
No algae grows
Hidden on this rocky shore
Where the breakers fall;
Is it their sound alone
That tells me to soak my sleeves? |
Ietaka.
628
The Gentlemen of both Left and Right state: the other team’s poem lacks thought.
Shunzei’s judgement: Both are most poetic examples of examples of verses using the imagery of waves and waters, and there appears to be very little pointless space between them, but rather than being told to ‘soak one’s sleeves’ with no sight of the lady, the ‘deep bond’ of the ‘waters of the Naka River’ seems superior.
Left.
契あらばあひ見て後ぞ知らるべき語りしさまの氣色なりとも
chigiri araba
aimite nochi zo
shirarubeki
katarishi sama no
keshiki naritomo |
Should we have a bond,
After meeting
I would, no doubt, know it;
And that the tales
Of her appearance are true… |
Lord Suetsune.
625
Right.
人づてに何か心を盡すらん戀ざめならば悔しからじや
hitozute ni
nani ka kokoro o
tsukusuran
koizame naraba
kuyashikaraji ya |
Via go-betweens
Why should I my heart
Pour out?
For should I lose interest in loving you,
How vexing it would be! |
The Provisional Master of the Empress Household Office.
626
The Gentlemen of the Right state: we find no faults worth mentioning in the Left’s poem. The Gentlemen of the Left state: the Right is overly frivolous.
Shunzei’s judgement: the Left, by beginning ‘Should we have a bond’ (chigiri araba) gives an impression that that the poem will be fine, but the final section has little depth, and is only lightly linked with the conception. As for the Right’s poem, if one has ‘lost interest’, there would be no gain in truly pouring out one’s heart! Neither poems sounds like a winner, or a loser.
'Simply moving and elegant'