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流れいづる涙の河の行く末はつひに近江の海とたのまん
| nagare iduru namida no kaFa no yukusewe Fa tuFi ni aFumi no umi to tanoman |
Flowing out This river of tears Will find its way Finally to the meeting By the sea – such must I hope! |
Anonymous
Tag Archives: tears
Love I: 11
Left.
氷ゐるみるめなぎさのたぐひかな上堰く袖の下のさゞ浪
| kōri iru mirume nagisa no tagui kana ue seku sode no shita no sazanami |
As ice-bound Algae on the beach Am I: The surface stopped up, but my sleeves Conceal a confusion of waves… |
621
Right.
我とはと思ふにかゝる涙こそ抑ふる袖の下になりぬれ
| ware to wa to omou ni kakaru namida koso osauru sode no shita ni narinure |
I should say nothing, I feel, and yet My tears, Held down by my sleeves, Do flow beneath them… |
622
The Gentlemen of the Right state: the Left do not seem to be expressing enough. The Gentlemen of the Left state: the initial line of the Right’s poem is difficult to pronounce. In addition, it is difficult to understand.
Shunzei’s judgement: the Left’s ‘the surface stopped up, but my sleeves’ (ue seku sode no) and the Right’s ‘held down by my sleeves’ (osauru sode no) are both elegant in form [yū naru sama], but no matter how much I ponder them I find them difficult to comprehend, so again, there is no clear winner or loser this round.
Love I: 7
Left (Win).
洩らすなよ雲ゐる嶺の初時雨木の葉は下に色變るとも
| morasunayo kumoiru mine no hatsu shigure ko no ha wa shita ni iro kawarutomo |
O, let it not leak out! Though the cloud-capped peaks’ First shower of rain, On the leaves’ underside Has left a change of hue… |
613
Right.
閨のうちは涙の雨に朽ち果てゝしのぶは茂る妻にぞ有ける
| neya no uchi wa namida no ame ni kuchihatete shinobu wa shigeru tsuma ni zo arikeru |
Within my bedchamber A rain of tears Has rotted all, so The weeping ferns secretly grow thick Around the edges… |
The Provisional Master of the Empress’ Household Office.
614
The Gentlemen of the Right state: the Left’s poem has no defects worth criticising. The Gentlemen of the Left state: the initial and final sections of the Right’s poem lack connection with each other. Does the poem have a conception of hiddenness?
Shunzei’s judgement: The conception and configuration of the Left’s ‘cloud-capped peaks’ first shower of rain’ (kumoiru mine no hatsu shigure) seems charming [kokoro sugata okashiku mie]. On that basis, it should win.
Love I: 5
Left (Win).
錦木に書き添へてこそ言の葉も思ひそめつる色は見ゆらめ
| nishikigi ni kakisoete koso koto no ha mo omoisometsuru iro wa miyurame |
Upon the spindle trees He writes His words, yet will those leaves With the first shadings Of passionate hues, she see… |
609
Right.
思ふより憂きに馴れたる袂かな涙や戀の先に立つらん
| omou yori uki ni naretaru tamoto kana namida ya koi no saki ni tatsuran |
From these soft feelings To heartbreak accustomed are My sleeves! Do tears always love Precede, I wonder? |
610
The Gentlemen of the Right state: while it is well known that spindle trees are an expression of love, it is certainly not the case that letters are attached to them. In response, the Left: in the writings of Nōin, he says, ‘A spindle tree is one to which the country folk attach letters.’ The Gentlemen of the Left state: the Right’s poem is irredeemably archaic [muge ni furumekashi]. In addition, ‘From these soft feelings to heartbreak accustomed’ (omou yori uki ni naretaru) is poorly linked, and the use of ‘precede’ (saki ni tatsu), in the absence of the mention of a path in the poem, lacks connection.
Shunzei’s judgement: the Left’s use of ‘spindle tree’ (nishikigi) is familiar from many Love poems and so seems quite tediously mundane [rei no koto]. The Right seems to have followed to some extent the conception of a poem by the former Nijō Lord’s serving woman, Chikuzen. I included it in the Senzaishū, and will note it down after this. As a result, the poem using the spindle tree must win. Note:
思ふよりいつしかぬるゝたもとかな涙ぞ戀のしるべなりける
| omou yori itsu shika nururu tamoto kana namida zo koi no shirube narikeru |
From these soft feelings How swiftly soaked are My sleeves; Tears, indeed, of love Are such a sign! |
The positioning of certain words does not differ to any great extent.
Love I: 2
Left (Win).
行末の涙のほどぞ知られぬる今日濡れそむる袖の雫に
| yukusue no namida no hodo zo shirarenuru kyō nuresomuru sode no shizuku ni |
On the path of Tears ahead, the number to fall I know now, From today’s first soaked Dripping sleeves… |
603
Right.
聞きもせず聞かずしもなき君故に思ひ定めぬ戀もする哉
| kiki mo sezu kikazu shimo naki kimi yue ni omoisadamenu koi mo suru kana |
Hearing nothing, or Not unhearing Are you, so All uncertain am I Of my love… |
604
The Gentlemen of the Right state: we find no fault with the Left’s poem. The Gentlemen of the Left state: do you need ‘hearing nothing, or not unhearing’ (kiki mo sezu kikazu shimo naki) in the Right’s poem? And, if you are ‘all uncertain’, how can you feel love at all?
Shunzei’s judgement: The Left’s ‘path ahead’ (yukusue) is not really saying enough. However, the Right’s conception and diction fail to convince [kokoro kotoba atokatanakarubeshi]. The Left should win.
Spring I: 16
Left (Tie).
春風に池の氷や解けぬらん待たれぬ浪の花を見る哉
| haru kaze ni ike no kôri ya tokenuran matarenu nami no hana o miru kana |
In the breath of spring Will the ice upon the pond Melt? Unanticipated blossom touched Waves come into view… |
31
Right (Tie).
鶯のなみだのつらゝ聲ながらたよりにさそへ春の山水
| uguisu no namida no tsurara koe nagara tayori ni sasoe haru no yama mizu |
The bush warbler’s Tears of ice, And song, Issue an invitation! To the mountain waters this springtime… |
32
The Right team have no comments to make about the Left’s poem this round, but the Left wonder whether the essence of the poem, of the warbler’s ‘tears of ice’ and song inviting the waters, might not be a bit much?
Shunzei remarks that the form and phrasing of the Left’s poem is ‘certainly charming’, and echoes their criticism of the Right’s poem, as having an ‘impossible essence’. He then goes on to say, ‘The Left is placidly charming; the Right’s essence must be excessive. They are equivalent and I judge this round a tie.’
Miscellaneous 89
Left (Tie).
世の中を思ふ軒端の忍草いく代の宿と荒れかはてなん
| yo no naka o omou nokiba no shinobugusa iku yo no yado to are ka hatenan |
The everyday world stands In my thoughts, as beneath my eaves, The ferns, each one a frond of memory: How many ages has my dwelling stood, Now falling to desolation? |
177
Right (Tie).
たまゆらの露も涙もとゞまらずなき人こふる宿の秋風
| tamayura no tsuyu mo namida mo todomarazu nakibito kōru yado no akikaze |
Gemlet Dewdrops and tears both, Stay not; She who is gone loved so This house, brushed by autumn winds… |
178
Love 70
Left.
あふことのまれなる色やあらはれん洩り出て染る袖の涙に
| au koto no marenaru iro ya arawaren moriidete somuru sode no namida ni |
Meeting her: Is it that so rare does passion’s hue Appear, With a seeping stain Of tears, my sleeves are marked? |
139
Right (Win).
なく涙やしほの衣それながら馴ずは何の色かしのばむ
| naku namida yashio no koromo sorenagara narezu wa nan no iro ka shinobamu |
With fallen tears Eightfold, my garb is dyed, Yet, As she knows me not, with which Hue should I recall her? |
140
Love 59
Left.
我袖にむなしき浪はかけそめつ契もしらぬ床の浦風
| wa ga sode ni munashiki nami wa kakesometsu chigiri mo shiranu toko no urakaze |
Upon my sleeves, Vacantly, waves Have begun to break; All unknowing of our vows is The wind cross Bedding Bay… |
117
Right.
白玉の緒斷の橋の名もつらしくだけておつる袖の涙に
| shiratama no odae no hashi no na mo tsurashi kudaketeotsuru sode no namida ni |
White jewels on Broken-thread Bridge – The name does pierce my heart; A scattered fall of Tears upon my sleeves. |
118
Love 58
Left (Win).
うへしげる垣根がくれの小篠原しられぬ戀はうきふしもなし
| ueshigeru kakinegakure no ozasawara shirarenu koi wa ukifushi mo nashi |
The fertile fronds Conceal the fence within A field of bamboo grass: Knowing not of my love, she Feels not its cruel cut. |
115
Right.
夜な夜なの月も涙にくもりにき影だに見せぬ人をこふとて
| yonayona no tsuki mo namida ni kumoriniki kage dani misenu hito o kou tote |
Each and every night The moon with tears Is clouded; For one who’ll show not e’en a hint Is all that I do love. |
116