なごのうみの浦べにおふる浜つづらたえまくるしき物をこそ思へ
| nago no umi no urabe ni ouru hamatsuzura taema kurushiki mono o koso omoe | At Nago, by the sea Upon the beach grows Chasteberry: At the breaks between, sad Indeed, are my thoughts. |
Minister of Justice [Minamoto no] Toshisane
13
浜つづらたへまたへまを歎かせてくるしと思ふわがこころぞは
| hamatsuzura taema taema o nagekasete kurushi to omou wa ga kokoro zo wa | Chasteberry: The many breaks between Do cause me grief, and Pain is the feeling that Fills my heart! |
Kai, from the Shijō Palace
14
駿河の海おしへに生ふる浜つづら汝を頼み母に違ひぬ
| suruga no umi wosipe ni opuru pamatudura imasi wo tanomi papa ni tagapinu | By the sea at Suruga Growing on the rocks Is moonseed on the beach—just so Do I cling to you Despite my mother’s warnings… |
Boats 船
わたつ海にただよふ舟のうきしづみそこをとまりとなきぞわびしき
| wata tsu umi ni tadayou fune no ukishizumi soko o tomari to naki zo wabishiki | Upon the broad sea sweep The drifting boats both Float and sink – That there they will not always remain is Indeed, depressing! |
Higo
Seafolk 泉郎
ふかながら海のこころやいかならんうらみぬあまはなしとこそきけ
| fukanagara umi no kokoro ya ika naran uraminu ama wa nashi to koso kike | It may have depths, but The heart of the sea is What sort of thing, I wonder? An unresentful fisherman Is nowhere to be found, I hear! |
Tadafusa
Lakes 水海
恋ひわぶる人にあふみの海といへどみるめはおひぬ物にぞありける
| koiwaburu hito ni ōmi no umi to iedo mirume wa oinu mono ni zo arikeru | Suffering with love’s pains Folk meet at Ōmi Sea, they say, though No prying eyes arise from midst the seaweed there – ‘Tis true to say! |
Daishin
Lakes 水海
にほの海はみるめもおひぬ浦にてやむベかづきする海人なかりけり
| nio no umi wa mirume mo oinu ura nite ya mube kazuki suru ama nakarikeri | At the Sea of Grebes No prying eyes arise from midst the seaweed, On the beach: is that why Truly slipping beneath the waters There are no fishermen at all? |
Higo
Lakes 水海
近江の海みちくるしほもなきものをたれからさきといひ初めけん
| ōmi no umi michikuru shio mo naki mono o tare karasaki to iihajimeken | The sea at Ōmi Swelling tides Does lack, so Who was that to Karasaki – a pointless point – Did first give the name, I wonder? |
Tadafusa
Hotsprings 出
わたつ海ははるけきものをいかにしてありまの山にしほゆいづらん
| wata tsu umi wa harukeki mono o ika ni shite arima no yama ni shioyu izuran | The broad sea sweep Lies far away, so Why is it that On Arima Mountain A salty hotspring should bubble forth? |
Kanemasa
Left (Win)
さざ浪や志賀津の海士になりにけりみるめはなくて袖のしほるる
| sazanami ya shigatsu no ama ni narinikeri mirume wa nakute sode no shioruru | Rocked by wavelets A fisherman at Shiga Bay Have I become! Glimpsing no seaweed, How my sleeves are soaked… |
Lord Suetsune
1171
Right
伊勢の海の底までかづく海人なれやみるめに人を思ふ心は
| ise no umi no soko made kazuku ama nare ya mirume ni hito o omou kokoro wa | At Ise, to the sea Bed dive Fisher-girls: Am I one, too? A seaweed-tangled glimpse of you Lodging in my heart… |
Jakuren
1172
The Right state: the Left’s poem has no faults to mention. The Left state: neither beginning nor end is sufficiently forcefully expressed.
In judgement: the conception and configuration of the Left’s ‘fisherman at Shiga Bay’ (shigatsu no ama) certainly seem splendid. That is really all there is to say about this poem. To make a deliberate point of seeking out elements which sound difficult is a pointless activity for the Way of Poetry and an individual poet. As for the Right’s poem, diving ‘to the sea bed’ (soko made) is just something that fisher-girls do. The Left must win.
A poem by Her Majesty, the Dowager Empress.
鯨魚取り 近江の海を 沖放けて 漕ぎ来る船 辺付きて 漕ぎ来る船 沖つ櫂 いたくな撥ねそ 辺つ櫂 いたくな撥ねそ 若草の 夫の 思ふ鳥立つ
| isana tori opomi no umi wo oki sakete kogikitaru pune pe tu kite kogikuru pune oki tu kai itaku na pane so pe tu kai itaku na pane so wakakusa no tuma no omopu tori tatu |
In the whale-hunting Sea of Ōmi From far off in the offing Boats come rowing; Nearing the shore, Boats come rowing; Off in the offing, oars Beat not so hard! By the shore, oars Beat not so hard! A fresh blade of grass – My husband’s Beloved birds you’ll start to flight! |
Yamato Hime no Ōkimi
倭皇后