天のはら風にうきたるうき雲のゆくへさだめぬ恋もするかな
| ama no hara kaze no ukitaru ukigumo no yukue sadamenu koi mo suru kana | Across the Plain of Heaven Drifting on the breeze go Floating clouds, Destination all unknown— Such is my love for you! |
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Tag Archives: ukigumo
Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta’awase 33
Round Nine
Left
影きよく月をよこぎるうき雲は秋の名をさへけがしつるかな
| kage kiyoku tsuki yokogiru ukigumo wa aki no na sae kegashitsuru kana | The pure light of The moon crossing go The drifting clouds— The very name of autumn Have they besmirched! |
Arifusa
65
Right (Win)
照る月を浪のうへにてみる時ぞますみのかがみいる心ちする
| teru tsuki o nami no ue nite miru toki zo masumi no kagami iru kokochisuru | The shining moon Rests atop the waves, and When I gaze upon it, Within the clearest of mirrors Does it lie, I feel. |
Narinaka
66
What to make of the sound of the Left’s ‘besmirched the very name of autumn’? The Right does not seem to differ markedly from the conception of ‘Hundredfold Polished Mirror’[1] where it says that the moon ‘atop the waves’ is ‘all apiece with the autumn waters’ deeps’, does it. The Right should win.
[1] This is a reference to a poem by Bai Juyi, Bailianjing 百練鏡, contained in the Collected Works of Master Bai (Hakushi monjū 白氏文集), about a mirror which had been polished a hundred times. Kiyosuke quotes from the poem in his judgement, referring to the following passage: 江心波上舟中鋳 五月五日日午時 瓊粉金膏磨瑩已 化為一片秋潭水 jiangxinbo shang zhou zhong zhu / wu yue wu ri ri wushi / qiong fen jin gao mo ying yi / hua wei yipian qiu tan shui ‘In a boat atop the waves at the heart of the Yangtse / At noon on the 5th day of the Fifth Month / Polished with gemmed powdered seashells in golden oil / ‘Tis transformed and becomes all apiece with the autumn waters’ deeps.’
Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta’awase 31
Round Seven
Left (Tie)
あまつほしありともみえぬ秋のよの月はすずしき光なりけり
| ama tsu hoshi ari tomo mienu aki no yo no tsuki wa suzushiki hikari narikeri | Stars in the heavens Appear there to be none on An autumn night when The moon a cool Light sheds. |
Kojijū
61
Right
さ夜ふくる空にきえゆく浮雲の名残もみえぬ秋のよの月
| sayo fukuru sora ni kieyuku ukigumo no nagori mo mienu aki no yo no tsuki | As brief night wears on Vanishing from the skies are The drifting clouds, Leaving no keepsake for The moon this autumn night. |
Moromitsu
62
The Left, in addition to suffering from the Tree-Bank fault,[1] compounds this by adding a further line so all the first three lines begin with the same sound. This has been noted as a fault in earlier poetry matches. The Right, too, mentions ‘night’ twice and this is a significant fault, but I am unable to grasp the sense of the Left’s poem, so it’s difficult to make a judgement between them.
[1] Ganjubyō 岸樹病 (‘Tree-Bank fault’): this was one of the four poetic faults identified in the poetic treatise Waka sakushiki 倭歌作式 (‘Code of Creation of Japanese Poetry’), attributed to Kisen 喜撰 (fl. 810-824), hence the treatise’s alternative title of Kisenshiki 喜撰式 (‘Kisen’s Selected Codes’). This attribution is widely believed to be spurious, however, and that the work was probably written in the mid-Heian period. Ganjubyō refers to beginning the first and second ‘lines’ of a waka with the same syllable, in this case ‘a’.
SKKS XII: 1134
On the conception of love, in a hundred poem sequence.
あふ事のむなしき空のうき雲は身をしる雨の便りなりけり
| au koto no munashiki sora no ukigumo wa mi o shiru ame no tayori narikeri | Meeting you is A vain hope—empty as the skies, where Drifting clouds are The rainfall of my misery’s Harbingers. |
Prince Kore’akira
惟明親王
An allusive variation on KKS XIV: 705.
Horikawa-in Enjo Awase 10
忍ぶれど物思ふ人はうき雲の空に恋する名をのみぞたつ
| shinoburedo mono’omou hito wa ukigumo no sora ni koisuru na o nomi zo tatsu | I kept it secret, yet She, who is the focus of my thoughts, is As a drifting cloud Within the sky, and of my love Rumours, alone, do rise toward her. |
Middle Captain Morotoki, Fourth Rank
19
恋すともいかでか空に名はたたじ忍ぶる程は袖につつまで
| koisu to mo ikade ka sora ni na wa tataji shinoburu hodo wa sode ni tsutsumade | You love, so How is it that the skies Could remain untouched by rumours? Your secret You’ve not kept wrapped within your sleeves… |
Lady Aki, in service to the Empress Dowager
20
SZS III: 173
Eikyū hyakushu 497
Love VI: 11
Left (Tie).
我戀や晴れゆくままの空の雲よそにのみして消ぬべき哉
| wa ga koi ya hareyuku mama no sora no kumo yoso ni nomi shite kienubeki kana |
Is my love As the clearing Clouds with within the skies? While you remain distant Must I fade away… |
Lord Ari’ie.
921
Right.
をのづから閨もる月も影消えてひとりかなしき浮雲の空
| onozukara neya moru tsuki mo kage kiete hitori kanashiki ukigumo no sora |
From my Bedchamber the flooding moon Light has vanish; To be alone is sad, as The heartless drifting, clouds. |
Lord Takanobu.
922
The Right state: the central line of the Left’s poem is stiff. The Left state: the Right’s poem has no particular faults.
In judgement: the statements in regard to both poems are at variance with my own opinion. I will refrain from expressing that here, although I do regret that, somewhat. If, indeed, a central line is core, then it is better for it to lack connection with the remainder of the poem. In the case of the Left’s poem, however, it seems well linked with what follows. As for the Right’s poem, ‘bedchamber the flooding moon’ (neya moru tsuki) is not phrasing which is acceptable to me. However, the Left’s initial section seems pleasant, and the Right’s final section is elegant. Thus, the round is a tie.
Love VI: 9
Left.
戀わびて心空なる浮雲や行衛も知らずはてはなるべき
| koi wabite kokoro sora naru ukigumo ya yukue mo shirazu hate ha narubeki |
Suffering with love My heart is as the sky-bound Drifting clouds: In some unknown place Is where it will end… |
Lord Kanemune.
917
Right (Win).
戀死ぬるよはの煙の雲とならば君が宿にやわきてしぐれん
| koi shinuru yowa no kemuri no kumo to naraba kimi ga yado ni ya wakite shiguren |
Should I die of love, and Final smoke Clouds become, To your dwelling will I Drift and descend? |
Nobusada.
918
The Right state: does the Left’s poem really expresses the love of drifting clouds? The Left state: the Right’s poem is more suited to the topic of ‘Love and Smoke’.
In judgement: with regard to the Left’s poem, Lady Sagami’s poem from the Eishō Imperial Palace Poetry Competition: ‘Before I know it/In my heart, sky-bound/is my love’ (itsu to naku/kokoro sora naru/wa ga koi ya) would be a good prior example, but this poem inserts ‘drifting clouds’ (ukigumo ya), which is illogical. As for the Right’s poem, ‘To your dwelling will I drift and descend?’ (kimi ga yado ni ya wakite shiguren) sounds fine. Thus, and for this reason, the Right wins.