Composed on the conception of snow at one’s lodgings when travelling.
松がねにをばなかりしきよもすがらかたしく袖に雪はふりつつ
| matsu ga ne ni obana karishiki yo mo sugara katashiku sode ni yuki wa furitsutsu | Upon the pine tree’s roots Reaped silver grass I’ve spread, and All through the night Atop my single spread sleeves The snow is ever falling… |
Master of the Palace Repairs Office Akisue
をみなへしあきののをわけをりつればやどあれぬとてまつむしぞなく
| ominaeshi aki no no o wake oritsureba yado arenu tote matsumushi zo naku | O, maidenflower, Through the autumn meadows did I press To pick you, so My home has gone to ruin where The pine crickets sing. |
Yasuki
35
むしのねになきまどはせるをみなへしをればたもとにきりのこりゐる
| mushi no ne ni naki madowaseru ominaeshi oreba tamoto ni kiri nokori’iru | The insects’ cries With her sobs are confused, that Maidenflower, I pluck her, and within my sleeve Traces of the mists do linger. |
Amane
36
Left
ひとりぬる身の衣ではうみなれやみるに涙ぞまなくよせけれ
| hitori nuru mi no koromode wa umi nare ya miru ni namida zo ma naku yosekere | Sleeping alone Is my sleeve The sea? For looking upon it, waves of tears Break there ceaselessly. |
180
Right
年をへてもゆてふふじの山よりもあはぬ思ひは我ぞまされる
| toshi o hete moyu chō fuji no yama yori mo awanu omoi wa ware zo masareru | Through all the passing years Burns Fuji; Far more than the mountain, Not meeting you, the flames of passion, Burn brightly in me. |
181[1]
[1] Shikashū VII: 202/Shinchokusenshū XII: 710
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.
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.
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.
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
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.