Tag Archives: sleeve

Love IX: 2

Left (Tie)
よそにのみ隣の笛を聞き来しに我身の上に音こそ絶えせね

yoso ni nomi
tonari no fue o
kikikoshi ni
wa ga mi no ue ni
ne koso taesene
Simply a stranger to me is
The flute from next door
Drifting to my ear, but
Upon me fall
Nothing but endless cries.

Lord Ari’ie
1083

Right
夜もすがらよそに聞きつる笛の音の片敷く袖に移りぬる哉

yomosugara
yoso ni kikitsuru
fue no ne no
katashiku sode ni
utsurinuru kana
All through the night
I heard a strange
Flute’s strains;
On a single spread sleeve
Have they come to rest…

Nobusada
1084

The Right state: the Left’s poem has no faults to mention. The Left state: we wonder about the appropriateness of the sound of a flute coming to rest on sleeves?

In judgement: both poems are about the ‘sounds of a flute’, with the Left having them ‘upon me fall’ (wa ga mi no ue ni) endlessly, and the Right resting ‘on a single spread sleeve’ (katashiku sode ni). Neither has a conception of love which is greater or lesser than the other. I must make this round a tie.

Love VIII: 16

Left
玉章のたえだえになるたぐひかな雲井に雁の見えみ見えずみ

tamazusa no
taedae ni naru
tagui kana
kumoi ni kari no
miemi miezumi
His jewelled missives
Have become intermittent
It seems, just like
The geese up in the skies,
Glimpsed, and then not seen at all…

Lord Ari’ie
1051

Right (Win)
思かぬる夜はの袂に風ふけて涙の河に千鳥鳴くなり

omoikanuru
yowa no tamoto ni
kaze fukete
namida no kawa ni
chidori nakunari
Unable to bear my love,
At midnight my sleeve is
Stirred by the wind, and
Upon a river of tears
The plovers are crying…

Nobusada
1052

The Gentlemen of the Right state: we find no faults to mention in the Left’s poem. The Gentlemen of the Left state: we wonder about the reason for emphasising ‘upon a river of tears the plovers’ (namida no kawa ni chidori).

In judgement: the Left on a lover’s letters becoming intermittent, and saying ‘the geese up in the skies, glimpsed, and then not seen at all’ (kumoi ni kari no miemi miezumi) has a charming conception, and elegant diction. The Right, saying ‘at midnight my sleeve is stirred by the wind’ (yowa no tamoto ni kaze fukete) and continuing ‘the plovers are crying’ (chidori nakunari) has a configuration and diction which sounds fine, too. The criticisms of the Gentlemen of the Left are nothing more than ‘a fisherman fishing beneath his pillow’! Although the conception of the Left’s poem is charming, the configuration of the Right’s poem is slightly more notable, so it should win.

Love VII: 16

Left.
つれなしと人をぞさらに思ひ河逢ふ瀬を知らぬ身を恨ても

tsurenashi to
hito o zo sara ni
omoigawa
ause o shiranu
mi o uramitemo
How cruel
She is, I ever feel,
My thoughts a river;
No rushed meetings between us –
I hate myself for that, and yet…

Lord Kanemune
991

Right (Win).
遥なる程とぞ聞し衣川かた敷く袖の名こそ有けれ

harukanaru
hodo to zo kikishi
koromogawa
katashiku sode no
na koso arikere
Far, far away
Lies, I have heard,
The River Robe:
For my single spread sleeve
How apt that name is!

Lord Takanobu
992

The Right state: we find the Left’s poem unconvincing. The Left state: the Right’s poem lacks any faults.

In judgement: in the Left’s poem, ‘my thoughts a river’ (omoigawa) is certainly not unconvincing. The latter section of the Right’s poem sounds fine. It should win.

Saishō chūjō kuninobu no ie no uta’awase 15

Left (Win).
恋ひわびて片敷く袖はかへせどもいつかは妹が夢に見えける

koFiwabite
katasiku sode Fa
kaFesedomo
itu ka Fa imo ga
yume ni miekeru
Tortured with love
My single spread sleeve
I do reverse, yet
When will my darling
Appear in my dreams?

The Holy Teacher 闍梨
[Ryūgen 隆源]
29

Right.
我が心ときぞともなく乱るれど日だに暮るれば恋ひ添はりけり

wa ga kokoro
toki zo tomonaku
midaruredo
Fi dani kurureba
koFisoFarikeri
My heart
With every passing hour
Is more distraught, yet
Even when the day does dim
Love is my companion.

Bichū 備中
[Minamoto no Nakazane 源仲実]
30

Love V: 26

Left (Win).
都にて馴れにし物をひとり寢の片敷く袖は何かさびしき

miyako nite
narenishi mono o
hitori ne no
katashiku sode wa
nani ka sabishiki
In the capital
I grew accustomed to it, but
Sleeping alone
With only a single sleeve spread out
Is somehow sad…

Lord Suetsune
891

Right.
妹だにも待つとし聞かば小余綾のいそぐ舟路も嬉しからまし

imo dani mo
matsu to shi kikaba
koyurugi no
isogu funaji mo
ureshikaramashi
That girl of yours
Awaits you – were I to hear that,
From Koyurugi’s
Rocky shore in haste I’d go, even
The sea-lanes filled with joy!

The Provisional Master of the Empress Household Office.
892

The Right state: the Left’s poem lacks the essence of love on a journey, and even the sense of sorrow seems insufficient. The Left state: the Right’s poem has no particular faults.

In judgement: what do the Right mean by saying the Left ‘lack the essence of love on a journey’? And is it really right that ‘is somehow sad’ (nani ka sabishiki) is insufficient? The poem is composed to give an impression of someone fooling themselves. The Right’s ‘Koyurugi’ is certainly not an expression which I have not come across. However, the Left should win.

Winter II: 23

Left (Win).

埋火のあたりの円居飽かぬ間は夜床の衾よそにこそ見れ

uzumibi no
atari no matoi
akanu ma wa
yodoko no fusuma
yoso ni koso mire
A charcoal fire-pit,
And friendly folk gathered around:
While I would not have it end
My night time bedding
Seems of little point!

Lord Kanemune.

585

Right.

片敷きの袖冴え渡る冬の夜は床に衾の甲斐も無きかな

katashiki no
sode saewataru
fuyu no yo wa
toko ni fusuma no
kai mo naki kana
Just my single
Sleeve is so chill
On this winter’s night,
The blankets on my bed
Seem to do no good at all…

Lord Takanobu.

586

The Gentlemen of the Right state: we wonder about the use of ‘bedding of little point’ (fusuma yoso ni)? The Gentlemen of the Left state: we find no faults in the Right’s poem.

Shunzei’s judgement: Both poems are on ‘bedding’ (fusuma), with the Left saying that it seems of little purpose at a gathering around a charcoal fire-pit, and the Right, that it seems to be thin when the cold comes. So, we go from it doing no good, even if you do have it on, to it being pointless when you are happy and warm. What point are these poems trying to make, I wonder? The Left should win.