Waterweed 萍
涙川みなとにうかぶうき草のうきねとどめむかたのなきかな
namidagawa minato ni ukabu ukikusa no ukine todomemu kata no naki kana On the river of tears lies A harbour where floats A waterweed – To bring a halt to sorrowful, solitary sleep is There no way at all!
Akinaka
河の瀬に波のうき草うかれありくそのたはれめをいかが頼まむ
kawa no se ni
nami no ukikusa
ukare ariku
sono tawareme o
ikaga tanomamu
Upon the river rapids
A waterweed among the waves
Carried along:
In that pleasure girl
How can I put my trust?
Minamoto no Nakamasa
源仲正
Left (Win).
雨そゝく池の浮草風こえて浪と露とにかはづ鳴くなり
ame sosoku
ike no ukikusa
kaze koete
nami to tsuyu to ni
kawazu nakunari
Rain drifts down
Upon the duckweed in the pond,
Driven by the wind
Among wavelets and dewfall
The frogs are calling.
A Servant Girl .
165
Right.
庭の面はひとつに見ゆる浮草をこゝぞ汀とかはづ鳴なり
niwa no omo wa
hitotsu ni miyuru
ukikusa o
koko zo migiwa to
kawazu nakunari
The garden’s face
Seems as one
With the duckweed;
‘Here lies the water’s edge,’
The frogs are calling…
Jakuren .
166
Neither Right nor Left has any particular remarks to make about the other’s poem this round.
Shunzei says, ‘Both poems are splendid in form, but the Left’s ‘among the wavelets and dewfall’ (nami to tsuyu to ni ) is particularly pleasing. It must win.
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'Simply moving and elegant'