Bush Clover
Left (Tie)
あきはぎの花のさかりとさをしかのよぶかきこゑといづれまされり
| akihagi no hana no sakari to saoshika no yobukaki koe to izure masareri | The autumn bush clover’s Profusion of blossom, or A stag’s Bell deep in the night: Which was better? |
Koremori
5
Right
したばよりいろづくはぎといひながらことしはつゆも心おくらし
| shitaba yori irozuku hagi to iinagara kotoshi wa tsuyu mo kokoro okurashi | From its underleaves The bush clover takes on autumn hues, They say, but This year, the dew also Seems to fall on my heart. |
Lady Suke
6
Topic unknown.
さをしかのあさたつ野べの秋はぎに玉とみるまでおけるしらつゆ
| saoshika no asa tatsu nobe no akihagi ni tama to miru made okeru shiratsuyu | Stags Stand in the morning meadows, where Upon the autumn bush clover As gemstones appearing Have fallen silver dewdrops. |
Middle Counsellor Yakamochi[i]
[i] This poem is included in Man’yōshū (VIII: 1598).
Round Thirty-Nine
Left (Tie)
さをしかのふしどをあさみ吹く風に夜半に鳴く音ぞふかくなりゆく
| saoshika no fushido o asami fuku kaze ni yowa ni naku ne zo fukaku nariyuku | The stag’s Resting place disturbed by The gusting wind At midnight his belling cry Comes from deeper in the mountains. |
Chikanari
77
Right
さらでだにね覚かなしき秋風に夜しもなどか鹿の鳴くらん
| sarade dani nezame kanashiki akikaze ni yoru shimo nado ka shika no nakuran | Even were it not so, To waken is so sad With the cruel autumn wind; Why is it that above all at night The stag should cry so? |
Ie’kiyo
78
The Left poem’s ‘at midnight his belling cry comes from deeper’ does not sound especially elegant. The Right poem composes ‘why is it that above all at night the stag should cry so’, sounding like it is only at night that stags bell, but stags do this all the time in autumn. The Ancient and Modern also has the composition, ‘Mud-daubers buzzing / In the autumn bush clover; / Leaving with morning’.[1] The poems of Left and Right have no merits or faults between them—they should tie.
[1] This is a quotation from: Topic unknown. すがるなく秋のはぎはらあさたちて旅行く人をいつとかまたむ sugaru naku / aki no hagiwara / asa tachite / tabi yuku hito o / itsu to ka matan ‘Mud-daubers buzzing / In the autumn bush clover; / Leaving with morning, / Away on a journey: for him, / How long must I wait?’ Anonymous (KKS VIII: 366)
Round Thirty-Seven
Left (Tie)
むば玉のよやふけぬらんさをしかの声すみのぼるをのの草ぶし
| mubatama no yo ya fukenuran saoshika no koe suminoboru ono no kusabushi | Might lily-seed dark Night have fallen? The stag’s Cry clearly climbs From where he lies among the meadow grasses. |
Takasuke
73
Right
秋のよはつまどふ鹿の深山出でていまだ旅なるをのの草ぶし
| aki no yo wa tsumadou shika no miyama idete imada tabi naru ono no kusabushi | On an autumn night, Seeking his bride, the stag Emerges from the mountains’ depths, And now on his travels Lies among the meadow grasses. |
Shimotsuke
74
Left and Right’s ‘lies among the meadow grasses’ have no merits or faults between them. A pleasant tie.
Round Thirty-Four
Left
もののふもあはれとおもへあづさ弓ひきのの夜半のさをしかの声
| mononofu mo aware to omoe azusayumi hikino no yowa no saoshika no koe | Let even a warrior Feel pity! A catalpa bow drawn On Hiki Plain at a midnight Stag’s call. |
The Former Minister of the Centre
67
Right (Win)
つれもなきつまをやたのむ秋風の身にさむき夜は鹿も鳴くなり
| tsure mo naki tsuma o ya tanomu akikaze no mi ni samuki yo wa shika mo nakunari | Is it his heartless Bride he seeks? The autumn wind Chills the bones at night As the stag, too, does cry.[1] |
Kozaishō
68
The Left’s poem seems to have no faults worth mentioning, but the Right’s poem is composed with the poem ‘The autumn wind / Chills my bones / As cold as / The woman I hope for / In the dark, night after night’ in mind and seems particularly pleasant, so it wins.
[1] An allusive variation on: Topic unknown. 秋風の身にさむければつれもなき人をぞたのむくるる夜ごとに aki kaze no / mi ni samukereba / tsuremonaki / hito o zo tanomu / kururu yo goto ni ‘The autumn wind / Chills my bones / As cold as / The woman I hope for / In the dark, night after night.’ Dharma Master Sosei (KKS XII: 555)
Round Ten
Left (Tie)
夜もすがら妻こふるまにさをしかのめさへあはでや鳴きあかすらん
| yomosugara tsuma kouru ma ni saoshika no me sae awade ya naki’akasuran | All night long, Yearning for his mate, Does the stag Fail to close his eyes, Belling until the dawn? |
Mikawa
43
Right
独のみみねのをしかのなくこゑにあはれ吹きそふ風の音かな
| hitori nomi mine no oshika no naku koe ni aware fukisou kaze no oto kana | A single, solitary, Stag from the peak Belling out Laces sadness into the gusting Sound of the wind! |
Kojijū
44
The Left’s ‘fail to close his eyes’ is a commonly utilised viewpoint, while the Right’s ‘lacing sadness into the gusts’ is unsatisfactory—simply ‘laced’ would be preferable. Nevertheless, neither of these are particularly significant faults, so these should tie.
