When he was thinking of days long gone, after he had grown old.
あけくれは昔をのみぞしのぶ草葉末の露に袖ぬらしつつ
| akekure wa mukashi o nomi zo shinobugusa hazue no tsuyu ni sode nurashitsutsu | Day and night Times long gone simply Remembrance fern Frond tips’ dewdrops Ever drench my sleeves. |
Hōribe no Narinaka
きてなれし袂は人に見せてましつらき涙の色のかはらば
| kitenareshi tamoto wa hito ni misetemashi tsuraki namida no iro no kawaraba | I was wont to wear These sleeves—to him I would display them: If heartless tears Should change their hues… |
Yurika, from the Hall of the Junior Consort
27
In reply.
忍草しのぶる程のよがれにはなにに心も袖もぬるらん
| shinobugusa shinoburu hodo no yogare ni wa nani ni kokoro mo sode mo nururan | A fond fern I do recall as My nightly visits cease, so Why is my heart and Sleeves, too, so drenched? |
The Assistant Lieutenant of the Middle Palace Guards, Left Division
28
Left (Tie)
いはざりき我身古屋の忍ぶ草思ひたがへて種を播けとは
| iwazariki wa ga mi furuya no shinobugusa omoitagaete tane o make to wa |
I did not tell you: My aged home’s Fond ferns To think so lightly of That you scatter seeds about! |
Lord Sada’ie
1031
Right
ながめする心の根より生ひそめて軒の忍ぶは茂る成るべし
| nagamesuru kokoro no ne yori oisomete noki no shinobu wa shigerunarubeshi |
Consoled, My heart’s depths Have grown old, as Beneath my eaves the ferns Have grown thick, indeed. |
Nobusada
1032
The Gentlemen of the Right state: we wonder about the appropriateness of sowing seeds beneath eaves? The Left, in appeal: why not compose a poem in this manner, given ‘even the grass seeds, forgotten’? The Left state: this seems little different from Toshiyori’s poem, ‘Beneath the eaves, my thoughts run wild / As the growing plants…’ (omoinoki yori ouru narikeri).
In judgement: both poems refer to ferns, and the conception of ‘my aged home’ (wa ga mi furuya no) and ‘my heart’s depths’ (kokoro no ne yori) both sound suitable. I make this a tie.
Left (Win)
忘らるゝ人に軒端の忍ぶ草涙の雨ぞ露けかりける
| wasuraruru hito ni nokiba no shinobugusa namida no ame zo tsuyukekarikeru |
Forgotten by Him, beneath my eaves The ferns bring back memories; A rain of tears Leaves them dew-drenched. |
Lord Kanemune
1021
Right
戀づまのやがて軒端になり行けばいとど忍ぶの草ぞ茂れる
| koizuma no yagate nokiba ni nariyukeba itodo shinobu no kusa zo shigereru |
My man is Far away; beneath my eaves Are the signs: How many memories and Ferns grow thickly… |
Lord Tsune’ie
1022
Both Left and Right state: we find no faults to mention.
In judgement: both poems refer to ‘memory ferns’ (shinobugusa), and there is not a great deal of difference in quality between them, but the Left’s ‘rain of tears’ (namida no ame), with its association of dew, is slightly better than the Right’s ‘ferns grow thickly’ (kusa zo shigereru), and so should win.
Left (Tie).
隔てける籬の島のわりなきに住む甲斐なしや千賀の塩釜
| hedatekeru magaki no shima no warinasa ni sumu kai nashi ya chika no shiogama |
Barring our way is The fence – Magaki Isle: So unreasonable That living close is pointless, as if We were at Chika’s salt-kilns! |
Kenshō
885
Right.
忍ぶ草竝ぶ軒端の夕暮に思ひをかはすさゝがにの糸
| shinobugusa narabu nokiba no yūgure ni omoi o kawasu sasagani no ito |
A weeping fern lies Between our almost touching eaves; In the evening Love will pass Along the spider’s thread. |
Ietaka
886
The Right state: the Left’s ‘Magaki Isle’ (magaki no shima) and ‘Chika’s salt kiln’s’ (chika no shiogama) do not seem that nearby, do they? They only evoke closeness through wordplay. The Right state: we find no faults to indicated in the Left’s poem.
In judgement: the Left’s ‘Magaki Isle’ and ‘Chika’s salt kilns’, even if they are not that close, do not display a lack of technique in the conception of the current composition. I do wonder what to think about ‘so unreasonable’ (warinasa ni), though. The Right’s weeping ferns, with the spider’s behaviour transmitting the feelings of love, does not seem unreasonable either. This round, too, the poems are comparable and should tie.
Left (Tie).
世の中を思ふ軒端の忍草いく代の宿と荒れかはてなん
| yo no naka o omou nokiba no shinobugusa iku yo no yado to are ka hatenan |
The everyday world stands In my thoughts, as beneath my eaves, The ferns, each one a frond of memory: How many ages has my dwelling stood, Now falling to desolation? |
177
Right (Tie).
たまゆらの露も涙もとゞまらずなき人こふる宿の秋風
| tamayura no tsuyu mo namida mo todomarazu nakibito kōru yado no akikaze |
Gemlet Dewdrops and tears both, Stay not; She who is gone loved so This house, brushed by autumn winds… |
178