Left (Tie)
すみよしのまつのこずゑにふるゆきのつもりまさるとみゆる月かげ
| sumiyoshi no matsu no kozue ni furu yuki no tsumorimasaru to miyuru tsukikage | Sumiyoshi’s Pines’ treetops have Fallen snow upon them, Piled even higher, It seems in the moonlight. |
Lord Taira no Hiromori
Senior Assistant Minister of Justice
Meagre Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade[i]
31
Right
すみよしのはままつがえをこすなみに月のしらゆふかけそへてけり
| sumiyoshi no hamamatsu ga e o kosu nami ni tsuki no shirayū kakesoetekeri | At Sumiyoshi The pine trees on the beach are Washed by waves, with The moon’s sacred streamers Hung, trailing, upon them. |
Grand Dharma Master Chikyō[ii]
32
Both Left and Right lack any particular defects and sound elegant—they tie.
[i] Jūgoige-shu gyōbu taifu Taira ason Hiromori 従五位下守刑部大輔平朝臣広盛
[ii] Daihōshi Chikyō大法師智経
Round Thirteen
Left
すみよしのあまくだりますまつのうへにそらよりかくる月のしらゆふ
| sumiyoshi no amakudarimasu matsu no ue ni sora yori kakuru tsuki no shirayū | At Sumiyoshi Did the Deity descend from Heaven To the pines—upon them From the skies are hung The moon’s sacred streamers. |
Kamo no Agatanushi Masahira
Kataoka Junior Assistant Priest[1]
25
Right (Win)
しめのうちにしらゆふかけぬひまぞなき月もたむけのこころありけり
| shime no uchi ni shirayū kakenu hima zo naki tsuki mo tamuke no kokoro arikeri | Within the holy precints Sacred streamers fail to hang In not a single spot— The moon to make an offering Is of a mind. |
Lord Fujiwara no Chikashige
Junior Fifth Rank, Upper Grade,
Without Office[2]
26
While the poem of the Left’s ‘From the skies are hung’ and so forth seems charming, I do wonder about the idea of the ‘Deity descending from Heaven / To the pines’—it’s vague. The poem of the Right’s conception and configuration of ‘The moon to make an offering’ appears pleasant, and thus it wins.
[1] Kataoka negi jūyon’ijō Kamo agatanushi Masahira 片岡禰宜従四位上賀茂県主政平
[2] San’i jūgoijō Fujiwara ason Chikashige 散位従五位上藤原朝臣親重
Round Ten
Left (Tie)
まつもみなしらゆふかけてすみよしの月のひかりもかみさびにけり
| matsu mo mina shirayū kakete sumiyoshi no tsuki no hikari mo kamisabinikeri | The pine trees, every one, Are hung with sacred streamers— At Sumiyoshi Even the moon’s light Inspires awe. |
Hyōenosuke, in service to the Junior Consort
(formerly Handmaid Mikawa, in service at the Nijō Palace)[1]
19
Right
かたそぎのゆきあはぬまよりもる月をさえぬしもとやかみは見るらむ
| katasogi no yuki awanu ma yori moru tsuki o saenu shimo to ya kami wa miruramu | The ridge poles Fail to entwine, and from the gaps Drips moonlight— As chill-less frost, I wonder, Does the Deity regard it? |
Lord Fujiwara no Naganori
Supernumerary Minor Captain in the Inner Palace Guards, Left Division
Exalted Senior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade[2]
20
The Left’s poem appears to have a pleasant configuration with ‘Even the moon’s light / Inspires awe’. The poem of the Right, furthermore, has a charming-sounding sequence with ‘As chill-less frost, I wonder, / Does the Deity regard it?’ but in composition one usually states that the moon is fair precisely because of its chill. Thus, when one compares it to true frost, can one say that it lacks it? While I do feel that this is somewhat vague, both the poems appear to pleasant configurations, so I make this a tie.
[1] Nȳogo no ie Hyōenosuke moto nijōin Mikawa no maishi女御家兵衛佐元二条院参河内侍
[2] Shōyon’ige-gyō konoe gonshōjō Fujiwara ason Naganori 正四位下行左近衛権少将藤原朝臣修範
