Tag Archives: snow

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 23

Round Twenty-Three

Left (Win)

雪ふかみしづのふせ屋もうづもれて煙ばかりぞしるしなりける

yuki fukami
shizu no fuseya mo
uzumorete
keburi bakari zo
shirushi narikeru
Snow so deep that
The peasants’ huts, too,
Are buried, and
The smoke, alone, is
Their only sign!

Kinshige
45

Right

花の春もみぢの秋もしるかりし松の木ずゑもみえぬ白雪

hana no haru
momiji no aki mo
shirukarishi
matsu no kozue mo
mienu shirayuki
By blossom is spring, and
By scarlet leaves is autumn
Known—
The treetops of the pines
Invisible with snow, so white.

Kūnin
46

The Left poem’s conception of ‘sign of smoke’ sounds particularly profound. As for the Right, it is possible for enough snow to fall to conceal a pine’s lower leaves, too, so the poem does not sound satisfying.

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 22

Round Twenty-Two

Snow

Left (Win)

霜がれのまがきの中に雪ふれば菊より後の花もありけり

shimogare no
magaki no naka ni
yuki fureba
kiku yori nochi no
hana mo arikeri
When, burned by frost,
Within my lattice fence
There is a fall of snow,
After the chrysanthemums,
There are flowers, even so.

Suketaka
43

Right

花さけば雪かとみせて雪ふれば花かとみするみよしのの山

hana sakeba
yuki ka to misete
yuki fureba
hana ka to misuru
miyoshino no yama
When the blossom blooms
I wonder if ‘tis snow, and
When the snow does fall
I wonder if ‘tis blossom
In the mountains of fair Yoshino.

Kūnin
44

Both are elegant, but even so the Right should lose.

Kinkai wakashū 166

Pinks

ゆかしくば行きてもみませゆきしまの岩ほにおふる撫子の花

yukashikuba
yukitemo mimase
yukishima no
iwao ni ouru
nadeshiko no hana
If you find them charming, then
You should go and see
While snow lies heavy on the garden’s
Rock where grow
The pinks in bloom.[i]
A kuzushiji version of the poem's text.

[i] An allusive variation on: A poem by Kamō, the dancing girl. 雪嶋 巌尓殖有 奈泥之故波 千世尓開奴可 君之挿頭尓 yuki no shima / iwao ni uetaru / nadeshiko wa / chiyo ni sakanu ka / kimi ga Kazashi ni ‘Snow lies heavy on the garden’s / Rocks where grow / The pinks: / o. won’t you bloom a thousand years? / That my Lord may wear you in his hair…’ (MYS XIX: 4232).

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 08

Round Eight

Left (Tie)

うき世をば又なににかはなぐさめん花にさきだついのちともがな

ukiyo oba
mata nani ni ka wa
nagusamen
hana ni sakidatsu
inochi to mogana
In this cruel world
Is there yet anything else
To console me?
Before the blossoms’ departure
I would my life do the same…

Court Lady Taifu
15

Right

桜さく春の山風みねこせば雪ふりつもる谷のほそみち

sakura saku
haru no yamakaze
mine koseba
yuki furitsumoru
tani no hosomichi
When in cherry-blooming
Spring, the mountain breezes
Cross the peaks
Snow falls and piles high
Upon the narrow valley paths.

Moromitsu
16

Both poems are smooth, and on that basis, I would say that the Right is superior, but it has an archaic element, while the Left lacks anything unusual about it, so this is a tie of quality.

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 06

Round Six

Left (Win)

梅の花をりてかざせば二月の雪は衣におつるなりけり

ume no hana
orite kazaseba
kisaragi  no
yuki wa koromo ni
otsuru narikeri
When plum blossom
I pluck and wear within my hair,
Second Month
Snows upon my robe
Do fall!

Masashige
11

Right

時ならぬ卯花ともやおもはましかきねの梅のかをらざりせば

toki naranu
u no hana tomo ya
omowamashi
kakine no ume no
ka orazariseba
Unseasonal
Deutzia blooms might
I think them?
Did the plum by my lattice fence
Fail to scent the air…

Atsuyori
12

The Left is not lacking in conception.