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.
Round Ten
Left (Win)
数ならぬ深山がくれを尋ねてぞ心の末の花も見るべき
| kazu naranu miyamagakure o tazunete zo kokoro no sue no hana mo mirubeki | Not for many, but Hidden deep within the mountains, I go seeking for My heart’s final desire: Catching sight of a blossom. |
The Former Minister of the Centre
19
Right
まがひこし雲をばよそに吹きなして峰の桜ににほふ春風
| magaikoshi kumo o ba yoso ni fukinashite mine no sakura ni niou harukaze | I had mistaken The clouds far away A’blowing, for Cherries on the peaks Scenting the breeze of spring. |
Kozaishō
20
Both Left and Right sound elegant, yet still the hue of ‘my heart’s final desire: blossom’ is something I can visualise—thus, it wins.
Composed as a spring poem, when he presented poems to the Poetry Office.
葛城やたかまの桜さきにけりたつたのおくにかかる白雲
| kazuragi ya takama no sakura sakinikeri tatsuta no oku ni kakaru shirakumo | In Kazuragi, On Takama peak the cherry Has bloomed! To the heart of Tatsuta Cling clouds of white…[1] |
Jakuren
[1] An allusive variation on KKS I: 59 and Wakan rōeishū II: 409/SKKS XI: 990.
Composed on the conception of gazing at mountain cherries in the distance, when people were drinking wine and composing poetry at the residence of the Minister of the Centre.
高砂の尾上のさくらさきにけりと山のかすみたたずもあらなん
| takasago no wonoFe no sakura sakinikeri toyama no kasumi tatazu mo aranan | On Takasago’s Heights the cherries Have bloomed; O, I wish the haze around the nearby peaks Would not rise at all! |
Lord Ōe no Masafusa
Composed on the conception of seeing blossom every morning.
たづねきてたをるさくらの朝露に花のたもとのぬれぬ日ぞなき
| tadunekite taworu sakura no asatuyu ni Fana no tamoto no nurenu Fi zo naki | I pay a visit and Pluck, with my hand, a stem of cherry blossom; The morning dew My springtime sleeves Dampens every single day! |
The Naka-no-in Minister of the Right
When he participated in an archery display, during the reign of the Jōgan emperor [Seiwa].
けふ桜しづくにわが身いざぬれむかごめにさそふ風のこぬまに
| keFu sakura siduku ni wa ga mi iza nuremu kagome ni sasoFu kaze no konu ma ni | Today let cherry blossom Droplets my body Drench! For the scented Breeze has yet to blow… |
The Kawara Minister of the Left
[Minamoto no Tōru 源融 (822-895)]
Cherry blossom on a distant mountain.
かづらきや高間のさくらながむれば夕ゐる雲に春雨ぞ降る
| kazuraki ya takama no sakura nagamureba yū iru kumo ni harusame zo furu | In Kazuraki When on Takama Mountain’s cherries I gaze From the clouds at the cusp of dusk Falls a springtime shower. |
A place famed for cherry blossom.
音にきくよしののさくら咲きにけり山のふもとにかかる白雲
| oto ni kiku yoshino no sakura sakinikeri yama no fumoto ni kakaru shirakumo | The famed Yoshino cherries Have bloomed; Around the mountains’ feet Cling clouds of white. |
