Left
こひしきにねざめてみをぞうきなみのよるぞかなしきそでのひつまで
| koishiki ni nezamete mi o zo ukinami no yoru zo kanashiki sode no hitsu made | Filled with love I do awake, but Waves of depression drift, Breaking the night with sadness Until my sleeves are drenched through… |
17
Right
うつつにもゆめにもみえずなりぬればさむるよなよなねをのみぞなく
| utsutsu ni mo yume ni mo miezu narinureba samuru yonayona ne o nomi zo naku | In both reality, and Dreams I see her not— When it comes to that, then On waking night after night Will I simply weep! |
18
The two princes of former Emperor Yōzei held a poetry match, occupying the Left and Right on the topics of ‘love on waking’ and ‘love after a dawn parting’.
Love on Waking
Left
ねてよりもさめてののちのわびしきはつらきうつつにまどふなりけり
| nete yori mo samete no nochi no wabishiki wa tsuraki utsutsu ni madou narikeri | More than sleeping After waking is Sad and lonely— Cruel reality Leaves me lost. |
1
Right
くやくやとまちてねざめにおきたればつきよりほかにいるひとぞなき
| kuyakuya to machite nezame ni okitareba tsuki yori hoka ni iru hito zo naki | Such painful thoughts Await me on waking When I arise Other than the moon There is no one here at all. |
2
Left – Bellflower
ゆめのみもかよへどあらぬありきぢかうつつにいかでみるよしもがな
| yume nomi mo kayoedo aranu arikiji ka utsutsu ni ikade miru yoshi mogana | Simply in my dreams Do I go back and forth, yet have no Lover’s path to walk, so In the waking world, somehow, I wish I had a way to see her! |
21
This poem is an acrostic with ‘bellflower’ (kichikau) contained in arikiji ka utsutsu. Old Japanese was written without indicating voicing, so chi and ji would have been identical at the time.
Right – Missing
Topic unknown.
ぬる夢にうつつのうさもわすられておもひなぐさむほどぞはかなき
| nuru yume ni utsutsu no usa mo wasurarete omoinagusamu hodo zo hakanaki | On appearing in a dream, then Reality’s cold cruelties I will forget, and Be comforted For a brief, empty moment. |
Princess Yoshiko, Junior Consort
Left
うつつにもゆめにもひとによるしあへばくれゆくばかりうれしきはなし
| utsutsu ni mo yume ni mo hito ni yoru shi aeba kureyuku bakari ureshiki wa nashi | In reality and In dreams both, ‘tis her I meet at night, so Until the twilight comes I have no joy, at all. |
Mitsune
57
Right (Win)
たまもかるあまとはなしにきみこふるわがころもでのかわくときなき
| tamamo karu ama to wa nashi ni kimi kouru wa ga koromode no kawaku toki naki | Reaping gemweed, A seaman, I am not, but Loving you, my lady, My sleeves are Dry for not a moment. |
58
Left (Tie)
うつつにはさらにもいはじさくらばなゆめにもちるとみえばうからむ
| utsutsu ni wa sara ni mo iwaji sakurabana yume ni mo chiru to mieba ukaramu | In the waking world There is nothing more I might say, O, cherry blossom! You scattering through my dreams— How I would hate to see it! |
Mitsune
23
Right
はなのいろをうつしとどめよかがみやまはるよりのちにかげやみゆると
| hana no iro o utsushi to tomeyo kagamiyama haru yori nochi ni kage ya miyuru to | The blossoms’ hues’ Reflection: hold it, Mirror Mountain! That after the springtime’s gone I might see their shades. |
Korenori
24[i]
[i] This poem is included in Shūishū (I: 73), attributed to Korenori, with the headnote, ‘From Former Emperor Uda’s Poetry Contest.’
Left
あひみてはむつましくこそなるときけつれなさのみもまさるきみかな
| aimite wa mutsumashiku koso naru to kike tsurenasa nomi mo masaru kimi kana | On meeting So kind would She become, I heard, but Simply in cruelty does That lady excel! |
35
Right (Win)
あかずしてわかれし人をゆめにみてうつつにさへもおつるなみだか
| akazushite wakareshi hito o yume ni mite utsutsu ni sae mo otsuru namida ka | Unsated Did I part from her to See her in my dreams, but Even in the waking world Will my tears fall? |
36
