Tag Archives: ukigumo

Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta'awase

Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta’awase 33

Leave a comment

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

Daikōtaigōgū no suke taira no tsunemori-ason ke uta’awase 31

Leave a comment

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’.

Shinkokinshū

SKKS XII: 1134

Leave a comment

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

Horikawa-in Enjo Awase 10

Leave a comment

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

Eikyū hyakushu

Eikyū hyakushu 497

Leave a comment

Clouds 雲

吹く風にただよふ空のうき雲をいつまでよその物とかはみん

fuku kaze ni
tadayou sora no
ukigumo o
itsu made yoso no
mono to ka wa mi		With the gusting wind
Scudding through the skies go
The drifting clouds
How long until distant
Objects they might become?

Higo, from the Residence of the Kyōgoku Regent
京極関白家肥後

Poetry Competition in Six Hundred Rounds

Love VI: 11

Leave a comment

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.

Poetry Competition in Six Hundred Rounds

Love VI: 9

Leave a comment

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.