Oaks 柞
柞原露のしらはひさしつるは時雨のあめぞうはぞめはする
| hahasowara tsuyu no shirahai sashitsuru wa shigure no ame zo uwazome wa suru | The oaks with The dew’s white ash Are covered; A shower of rain Does over-dye it. |
Fujiwara no Nakazane
藤原仲実
Left (Win).
さらでだに恨みんと思ふ我妹子が衣の裾に秋風ぞ吹く
| sarade dani uramin to omou wagimoko ga koromo no suso ni akikaze zo fuku |
That is not it, yet even so, I do think to hate My darling girl, Her robe hem Blown by the autumn wind… |
Lord Ari’ie.
935
Right.
いかなれば露をば払ふ風の音に物思ふ袖の濡れまさるらん
| ika nareba tsuyu o harau kaze no oto ni mono’omou sode no nuremasaruran |
For some reason Dewdrops blown by The wind – the mere sound Brings to my gloomy sleeves A dampness most extreme… |
Jakuren.
936
The Right state: the Left’s poem is most admirable. The Left state: the Right’s poem is definitely not!
In judgement: to give the gist of the comments by the Gentlemen of the Left and the Right, the Left’s poem is admirable, and the Right’s poem is not admirable at all. I see no need to make much more of this round that that, so, the Left wins.
Left (Win).
枕にも跡にも露の玉散りてひとり起きゐる小夜の中山
| makura ni mo ato ni mo tsuyu no tama chirite hitori oki’iru sayo no naka yama |
Upon my pillow and My foot prints both, dew Drops have fallen Awakening alone in Sayo-no-Nakayama. |
A Servant Girl
889
Right.
草枕ひとりあかしの浦風にいとゞ涙ぞ落ちまさりける
| kusamakura hitori akashi no ura kaze ni itodo namida zo ochimasarikeru |
Pillowed on the grass, Alone at dawn in Akashi, The breeze from the bay Makes even more tears Fall. |
Lord Tsune’ie.
890
The Right state they have no criticisms of the Left’s poem. The Left merely say that the Right’s poem is ‘old-fashioned’.
Shunzei’s judgement: The Left’s ‘dew drops’ (tsuyu no tama) falling so widely at Sayo-no-Nakayama one can surmise to be deeply expressive of the concept of travel. The Right’s Akashi Bay is a place strongly associated with the sad sound of the wind and the waves, but the final ‘makes even more fall’ (ochimasarikeru) is insufficient. Thus, the Left should win.
Left (Win).
葉を若みまだふし馴れぬ呉竹のこはしほるべき露の上かは
| ha o wakami mada fushinarenu kuretake no ko wa shiorubeki tsuyu no ue ka wa |
Fresh leaved, and Not yet grown to knots in bed, A bamboo Maid: will she draw the Kindly dew upon her? |
Lord Sada’ie.
861
Right.
情なき風に従ふ姫百合は露けきことやならはざるらん
| nasakenaki kaze ni shitagau himeyuri wa tsuyukeki koto ya narawazaruran |
The heartless Wind brushes A young star lily: To being dew drenched Is she, perhaps, unaccustomed? |
Lord Tsune’ie.
862
The Right state: the Left’s poem has not faults to indicate. The Left state: the Right’s poem lacks the conception of Love.
In judgement: the Left uses ‘bamboo’ (kuretake) and the Right ‘star lily’ (himeyuri): although the Left’s ‘Maid: will she draw’ (ko wa shiorubeki) does not seem possible to accept on grounds of style, but the Right, in addition to also lacking much conception of Love, has ‘heartless wind’ (nasakenaki kaze) which sounds poor. Thus, the Left should win, I think.
Composed as a travel poem, when the Regent and Former Minister of the Right had a hundred poem sequence composed at his residence.
あはれなる野しまかさきのいほりかな露おく袖に浪もかけけり
| awarenaru nojima ga saki no iori kana tsuyu oku sode ni nami mo kakekeri |
Mournful Nojima Point is where My hut lies; Upon my dew-dropped sleeves Have rushed the waves… |
Master of the Dowager Empress Household Office, Toshinari
皇太后宮大夫俊成