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君こふる涙しぐれとふりぬれはしのぶの山も色づきにけり
| kimi koFuru namida sigure to Furinureba sinobu no yama mo irodukinikeri |
Loving you, When my tears, as drizzle Fall, Shinobu Mountain, too Does take on its hues… |
Hafuribe no Narishige
祝部成仲
Tag Archives: tears
SKS VII: 218
Composed for the Poetry Competition held at the Residence of Middle Councillor Toshitada.
くれなゐの濃染の衣うへにきむこひのなみたの色かくるやと
| kurenawi no kosome no koromo uFe ni kimu koFi no namida no iro kakuru ya to |
In scarlet Deeply dyed, a robe Would I put on That my tears of love’s Hue be concealed! |
Fujiwara no Akitsuna
藤原顕綱
Love IV: 13
Left.
物思へばひま行く駒も忘られてくらす涙を先おさふらん
| mono’omoeba hima yuku koma mo wasurarete kurasu namida o mazu osauran |
Sunk in gloomy thought, That the hours had flown so fast I did forget; First, the tears shadowing my sight I should suppress… |
A Servant Girl.
805
Right (Win).
人知れぬ戀忘れ貝拾ひかね塩の干る間も袖は濡れけり
| hito shirenu koi wasuregai hiroikane shio no hiru ma mo sode wa nurekeri |
Unknown to all is My love, and a forgotten mussel shell I could not find, so Even when the beach is daytime dry My sleeves are soaked. |
The Provisional Master of the Empress’ Household Office.
806
The Right state: while ‘shadowed’ (kakikurasu) is a normal turn of phrase, we find ‘tears shadowing my sight’ (kurasu namida) to be unsatisfactory. The Left state: we wonder about the appropriateness of using shio no hiru ma alone for a play on words with hiru.
In judgement: The Left’s ‘That the hours had flown so fast I did forget’ (hima yuku koma mo wasurarete) gives the impression that the conception of the poem ought to be of waiting for dusk, but ‘First, the tears shadowing my sight I should suppress’ (kurasu namida o mazu osauran) seems to be something entirely different. As for the Right’s ‘Even when the beach is daytime dry my sleeves are soaked’ (shio no hiru ma mo sode wa nurekeri), I ask you, how can you think daytime isn’t a part of the phrase? The Right must win.
SZS XIII: 820
Composed on the conception of swearing one’s love in the middle of the day:
涙にや朽ちはてなましから衣袖のひるまと頼めざりせば
| namida ni ya kutiFatenamasi karakoromo sode no Firuma to tanomezariseba |
With tears Completely rotted will be My Cathay robe For to daytime dry the sleeves There is no one I can trust. |
Nakahara no Kiyoshige
中原清重
Love IV: 7
Left.
今朝よりはさらば涙にまかせてん絞り逢ふべき袖の雫か
| kesa yori wa saraba namida ni makaseten shiboriaubeki sode no shizuku ka |
From this morning Should it be that my tears I will just let fall, for I cannot wring out These droplets from my sleeves… |
Lord Suetsune.
793
Right.
我ごとく人や戀しき見るまゝにやがてしぼるゝ朝顔の花
| ware gotoku hito ya koishiki miru mama ni yagate shiboruru asagao no hana |
As much as I Is there anyone in love? While watching, Soon enough languish, The morning glory blooms… |
Lord Takanobu.
794
The Right state: is saying ‘From this morning’ (kesa yori wa) suggesting that the feelings have particularly arisen this morning? In response: this is simply the style of poetry. It is commonplace to use expressions such as ‘today it is that’ (kyō wa sa wa) or ‘now it is that’ (ima wa sa wa). The Left state: the initial two lines of the Right’s poem pay no attention to style.
In judgement: the Left’s poem, commencing ‘From this morning’ (kesa yori wa) and then saying ‘Should it be that my tears’ (saraba namida ni) does not seem poor. I do wonder about the final ‘These droplets from my sleeves’ (sode no shizuku ka), though. As for the Right’s poem, I do not feel that the initial two lines lack attention to style. The entirety of both teams comments display no knowledge of poetry, and fail to identify the merits or faults of the opposing poems. I feel that both the Left and the Right poems this round are elegant. Thus, the round should tie.
Love IV: 5
Left.
面影も別れに變る鐘の音にならひ悲しき東雲の空
| omokage mo wakare ni kawaru kane no oto ni narai kanashiki shinonome no sora |
That your face Is transformed to parting By the bell’s toll: How sad this custom From the eastern skies! |
Lord Sada’ie.
789
Right (Win).
暁の涙やせめてたぐふらん袖に落ち來る鐘の音かな
| akatsuki no namida ya semete tagūran sode ni ochikuru kane no oto kana |
At dawn, are My tears, forced to be Like them? Falling on my sleeves: The tolls of the bell! |
Nobusada.
790
The Right state: the sense of the Left’s poem is difficult to grasp on hearing. The Left state: the expression ‘forced to be’ (semete) seems out of place in the context of the Right’s poem.
In judgement: The Left’s poem, just as was said of Kisen’s poetry – that it was ‘obscure of diction and indefinite from beginning to end’ – seems to be in just such a style. The Right’s poem, while it does not, in fact, sound like a suitable context for ‘forced to be’ (semete), provides a profound conception in ‘falling on my sleeves’ (sode ni ochikuru). The Right should win.
Love III: 27
Left.
わが中を布留の荒田とうち捨て誰にゆきあひの早稲作らん
| wa ga naka o furu no arada to uchisutete tare ni yukiai no wase tukuran |
Our love As the overgrown fields at Furu Has been abandoned; Who do you go to now, To grow fresh seedlings? |
Kenshō
773
Right (Win).
山深み苔の下もる谷水や年経る恋の涙なるらん
| yama fukami koke no shita moru tanimizu ya toshi heru koi no namida naruran |
Deep within the mountains From underneath the moss leaks Water to the valleys; Enduring through the years are my love’s Tears… |
Ietaka
774
Both teams say the poems have no fault.
In judgement: both poems seem equal in expression, but the quality of the lower section of the Left’s poem is extremely poor, so I make the Right’s ‘from underneath the moss leaks’ (koke no shita moru) the winner.
Love III: 21
Left (Win).
浪ぞ寄る来てもみるめはなき物を浦見馴れたる志賀の里人
| nami zo yoru kitemo mirume wa naki mono o urami naretaru shiga no satobito |
The waves roll in, Approaching yet, seaweed Have I none And accustomed to despair am I Like one dwelling in Shiga… |
A Servant Girl.
761
Right.
君故に涙の川に揺らさるるみをつくしともなり果てねとや
| kimi yue ni namida no kawa ni yurusaruru miotsukushi tomo narihatene to ya |
For your sake In a river of tears I am afloat; Though I am not a channel buoy, Is that how I am to reach my end? |
Lord Tsune’ie
762
The Right state: the Left’s initial line is unsatisfactory. The Left state: the Right’s central line is also unsatisfactory.
In judgement: it is not just that the Right’s central line is unsatisfactory. A channel buoy, planted in a river and rotting away is quite a commonplace occurrence. For something to be ‘afloat’ (yurasaru), you would need to refer to flotsam, either of wood or bamboo. The Left should win.
Love III: 5
Left.
我戀は涙の雨の世にふりて袖より外にあらはれにけり
| wa ga koi wa namida no ame no yo ni furite sode yori hoka ni arawarenikeri |
My love With a rain of tears Has filled the world, and In places other than my sleeves Has been revealed. |
729
Right (Win).
人知れぬ心のうちに染めし色も千入になれば隱れざりけり
| hito shirenu kokoro no uchi ni someshi iro mo chishio ni nareba kakurezarikeri |
Unknown to all Within my heart Stained with passion’s hues A thousand times over I could hide no longer! |
730
Left and Right both have nothing to say.
In judgement: the Left’s ‘in places other than my sleeves’ (sode yori hoka ni) is a little old-fashioned. It does not win over the Right’s ‘thousand times’
Love III: 3
Left (Tie).
袖の上にかかる涙の白玉を包まねばこそよそに散るらめ
| sode no ue ni kakaru namida no shiratama o tsutsumaneba koso yoso ni chirurame |
To my sleeves Cling tears As pearls: I could not cover them, so They have scattered far as wide, it seems… |
725
Right.
よしさらば逢はで重ぬる濡れ衣の恨みに朽る妻もあらなん
| yoshi saraba awade kasanuru nureginu no urami ni kutsuru tsuma mo aranan |
I care not if it’s so! Without meeting, laid atop each other Our dampened clothes From despair will decay At the hem – that is my desire! |
726
The Right state: in the Left’s poem, it sounds as if the tears are being scattered by some other person. The Left state: we cannot understand the Right’s poem at all.
Shunzei’s judgement: the entirety of the final section of the Left’s poem is inappropriate [kashinserarezaru]. While the configuration of the Right is elegant, it does, indeed, seem somewhat difficult to grasp. Compared, the round is a tie.