yamagawa no nagare masaru wa harukaze ni tani no kōri o fukite tokuramu
The mountain stream is Flowing high: The breeze of spring Upon the valleys’ ice Blows and melted it, I think…
Tadami 4
[i] This poem is included in Shoku goshūishū (I: 39), attributed to Kanemori, with the headnote ‘A poem from the Poetry Match held by the Reikeiden Junior Consort’.
The Left poem’s sense is extremely charming. The Right poem’s pointless introduction of blossom scattering lacks interest and its diction is also poor. Thus, I make the Left the winner.
[i] This poem is included in Shūishū (I: 6); it was also included in the third edition of Kin’yōshū (I: 10).
[ii] This poem was subsequently included in several other collections: Kin’yōshū (first edition) (I: 14); Kin’yōshū (third edition) (I: 11); Shoku goshūishu (II: 114); and Mandaishū (II: 348).
Poetry Match held by Noritada, Confucian Tutor to the Heir Apparent[i]
Topics
Poets
Judge
Sweet-flags in the Valley
Left
たにふかみたづねてぞひくあやめぐさちとせあるべきくすりとおもへば
tani fukami tazunete zo hiku ayamegusa chitose arubeki kusuri to omoeba
Deep within the valley Seek and pick Sweet-flags! For a thousand years longevity Will their draught bring, I feel…
1
Right
たにふかみおふるあやめのながきねはひきかつ人もあらじとぞおもふ
tani fukami ouru ayame no nagaki ne wa hiki katsu hito mo araji to zo omou
Deep within the valley Grow sweet-flags— So long their roots that A skillful picker Is there none, I feel!
2
Nine-knotted sweet-flags grow in valleys atop rocks, so every year on this day, folk gather together and pick sweet-flag roots to make medicine from them, so one should compose as though cupping the water of this conception in one’s hands. The overall impression of the Right’s poem, while it may be something encountered occasionally, is that it shows ignorance of the conception of the topic and only refers to how long the roots are—it loses, but there may be some depth there.
こころあさきみぎはにおふるあやめぐさひきどころなきものにざりける
kokoro asaki migiwa ni ouru ayamegusa hikidokoro naki mono ni zarikeru
Conception shallow Right by the water’s edge a’growing Are sweet flags: There’s no value in picking Such things!
yo ni sumedo hito shirenu mi ya shiorisuru miyamagakure no tani no shitamizu
Dwelling within this world, yet No one knows that ‘tis as if I Were marking a trail Hidden deep within the mountains To waters flowing on the valley floor…
Hiromori 131
Right
あしからむなにはのことはかねてよりちかくてまもれすみよしのかみ
ashikaramu naniwa no koto wa kanete yori chikakute mamore sumiyoshi no kami
Reaping reeds, should ill fortune come From Naniwa, in all things Just in case Ward me closely O, God of Sumiyoshi!
Dharma Master Chikyō
132
The poem of the Right here, while it does draw on ‘reaping reeds at Naniwa’, in its phrasing sounds prosaic. As the Left’s ‘waters flowing on the valley floor’ seems to flow smoothly off the tongue, it wins.
ukiyo oba mata nani ni ka wa nagusamen hana ni sakidatsu inochi to mogana
In this cruel world Is there yet anything else To console me? Before the blossoms’ departure I would my life do the same…
Court Lady Taifu 15
Right
桜さく春の山風みねこせば雪ふりつもる谷のほそみち
sakura saku haru no yamakaze mine koseba yuki furitsumoru tani no hosomichi
When in cherry-blooming Spring, the mountain breezes Cross the peaks Snow falls and piles high Upon the narrow valley paths.
Moromitsu 16
Both poems are smooth, and on that basis, I would say that the Right is superior, but it has an archaic element, while the Left lacks anything unusual about it, so this is a tie of quality.
