三島江の入江に生ふる白菅の知らぬ人をも逢ひ見つるかな
misimae no irie ni oFuru sirasuge no siranu Fito wo mo aFimituru kana |
At Mishima Bay In the inlets grows White sedge; With an unknown lady Have I met together! |
Fujiwara no Mototoshi
藤原基俊
三島江の入江に生ふる白菅の知らぬ人をも逢ひ見つるかな
misimae no irie ni oFuru sirasuge no siranu Fito wo mo aFimituru kana |
At Mishima Bay In the inlets grows White sedge; With an unknown lady Have I met together! |
Fujiwara no Mototoshi
藤原基俊
真菅よき笠のかりての早稲蓑をうち着てのみや恋渡るべき
masuge yoki kasa no karite no wasamino wo utikite nomi ya koFiwatarubeki |
Of good, strong sedge Beneath a rain-hat’s brim A rice-straw raincoat Shall I simply wear On the journey for my love? |
Fujiwara no Kinzane
藤原公実
Composed on falling leaves.
三室山もみぢちるらし旅人の菅の小笠 ににしきおりかく
mimuroyama momidi tirurasi tabibito no suge no wogasa ni siki orikaku |
Upon Mimuro Mountain The scarlet leaves seem to have fallen: For upon the traveller’s Little umbrella of sedge Are they spread all over. |
Minamoto no Tsunenobu
源経信
三島菅いまだ苗なり時待たば着ずやなりなむ三島菅笠
misima suge imada nape nari toki mataba kizu narinamu misima sugagasa |
The Mishima sedge Is yet a seedling, but If I should await for it to grow I’ll not be able to wear A Mishima sedge-hat! |
A poem expressing feelings in metaphor.
見わたしの三室の山の巌菅ねもころ我れは片思ぞする
miwatashi no mimuro no yama no ipapo suge nemokoro ware pa kata’omopi zo suru |
As I gaze Upon Mimuro Mountain’s Hardy grasses on the crags How fondly do my Thoughts dwell on you. |
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection
Left (Win).
旅人や夏野の草を分けくらん菅の小笠の見え隱れする
tabibito ya natsuno no kusa o wakekuran suge no ogasa no miekakuresuru |
Does a traveller Through the grasses on the summer plains Come forging? A woven hat of sedge Revealed and then concealed… |
193
Right.
夏草の茂みを行ば何となく露分け衣袖ぞ濡れける
natsu kusa no shigemi o yukeba nani to naku tsuyu wake koromo sode zo nurekeru |
Through the summer grass’ Lush growth a’going Somehow My robe’s dew breaking Sleeves are drenched. |
194
The Right have no criticisms to make of the Left’s poem, but the Left remark that, ‘the phrase “somehow” (nani to naku) is obscure and discordant.’
Shunzei comments, ‘While the style [fūtei] of the Left’s poem is somewhat lacking, it otherwise has no faults. The Right’s “robe’s dew breaking” (tsuyu wake koromo) is superb, but as a whole the expression in the poem is insufficient. The Left wins.’