Composed at the Poetry Match held at the Residence of the Uji Former Grand Minister.
山ざくらさきそめしより久かたの雲井にみゆるたきのしらいと
| yamazakura sakisomeshi yori hisakata no kumoi ni miyuru taki no shira’ito | Since the mountain cherries Have begun to bloom, The eternal Clouds seem Threaded with a waterfall of white. |
Lord Minamoto no Toshiyori
Evening blossom on a mountain path.
道とほみけふこえくれば山ざくら花のやどりを我にかさなん
| michi tōmi kyō koekureba yamazakura hana no yadori o ware ni kasanan | Along distant roads Today I come travelling, so O, mountain cherries, Among your blossom shelter Won’t you lend me? |
Cherry blossom in the rain.
雨ふるとたちかくるれば山桜花のしづくにそほちぬるかな
| ame furu to tachi kakurureba yamazakura hana no shizuku ni sōchinuru kana | In the falling rain When I stood to shelter beneath A mountain cherry, Droplets from the blossom Did drench me! |
Left (Win)
はるがすみたちしかくせばやまざくらひとしれずこそちりぬべらなれ
| harugasumi tachishi kakuseba yamazakura hito shirezu koso chirinuberanare | If the spring haze Has risen to conceal The mountain cherries, Then, indeed, will no one know When they have seemed to scatter! |
Tsurayuki
9
Right
たのまれぬはなのこころとおもへばやちらぬさきよりうぐひすのなく
| tanomarenu hana no kokoro to omoeba ya chiranu saki yori uguisu no naku | Untrustworthy are The blossoms’ hearts I do think, so While they are unscattered Will the warbler sing. |
Okikaze
10[i]
Both of these are the same—they tie.[ii]
[i] This poem is included in Shinshūishū (XI: 1549), attributed to Okikaze, with the headnote, ‘From Former Emperor Uda’s Poetry Contest’. It is also included twice in Kokin rokujō (I: 31) and (VI: 4395): in both cases the poem is attributed to Okikaze, but the first instance lacks a headnote, while the second is classified as a ‘Warbler’ poem. Finally, it is also included in Mandaishū (II: 254), again attributed to Okikaze, but this time with the headnote, ‘Topic unknown’.
[ii] Given that the Left’s poem here is marked as winning, presumably Uda means that both poems are equally worthy of a win—that is, that this is a yoki ji, a ‘tie of quality’.
Left
さかざらむものならなくにさくらばなおもかげにのみまだきみゆらむ
| sakazaramu mono naranaku ni sakurabana nao mo kage ni nomi madaki miyuramu | Wishing not to bloom Will not remain The cherry blossom, but Even so their shape alone Swiftly, I would wish to see! |
Mitsune
3
Right
やまざくらさきぬるときはつねよりもみねのしらくもたちまさりけり
| yamazakura sakinuru toki wa tsune yori mo mine no shirakumo tachimasarikeri | When the mountain cherry Has bloomed, Earlier than usual Clouds of white around the peak Do rise spectacularly! |
Tsurayuki
4[i]
The Left uses ‘wish’[ii] twice; the Right places the mountain cherries at a distance—that make the round a tie.
[i] This poem is included in Gosenshū (I: 118), with the headnote, ‘A poem from Former Emperor Uda’s Poetry Contest’.
[ii] Uda is objecting to Mitsune’s double usage of the auxiliary verb -ramu in his judgement here.
Composed when he had gone to Michinoku, and saw the flowers blooming at the barrier of Nakoso.
吹く風を勿来の関と思へども道もせに散る山桜かな
| Fuku kaze wo nakoso no seki to omoFedomo mitimose ni tiru yamazakura kana |
The gusting wind Comes not to the barrier of Nakoso, I thought, yet The road is blocked with fallen Mountain cherry blossom. |
Minamoto no Yoshi’ie (1039-1106)
源義家
Left (Win).
忘れずよほのぼの人を三嶋江のたそがれなりし蘆のまよひに
| wasurezu yo honobono hito o mishimae no tasogare narishi ashi no mayoi ni |
Never will I forget you Who I glimpsed faintly In the dusk of Mishima Bay A single reed Causes confusion. |
647
Right.
花の色に移る心は山櫻霞のまより思ひそめてき
| hana no iro ni utsuru kokoro wa yamazakura kasumi no ma yori omoisometeki |
A blossom’s hue Has caught my heart; A mountain cherry Through the parted mists Has set me on the path of love. |
648
The Gentlemen of the Right state: saying simply ‘dusk’ (tasogare) when it should be ‘the hour of dusk’ (tasogare toki) sounds somewhat strange. The Gentlemen of the Left state: the Right’s poem is composed to recall the Kokinshū’s ‘A mountain cherry through the drifting mists’ (yamazakura kasumi no ma yori), but is inferior to the original.
Shunzei’s judgement: in regard to the Left’s poem, it is certainly the case that, even without the ‘hour’, ‘in the dusk’ is a standard expression. The Right’s poem sounds old-fashioned. The Left, though, does not sound unpleasant, even though its mentioning of ‘never will I forget’ (wasurezu yo) recollects ‘a tiled kiln’. It should win.
Left (Tie).
なを冴ゆるけしきにしるし山ざくらまだ冬ごもる梢なるらん
| nao sayuru keshiki ni shirushi yamazakura mada fuyugomoru kozue naruran |
Still so clear Is the scene: it must be a sign that Mountain cherries are Yet sealed in winter, Outstanding on the treetops… |
13
Right (Tie).
したふべき冬には雪のをくれゐて春ともいはず冴えわたるらん
| shitaubeki fuyu ni wa yuki no okureite haru tomo iwazu saewataruran |
How it must long for Winter – the snow Remains, Though ‘tis spring, needless to say: That is clear, indeed! |
The Provisional Assistant Master of the Empress’ Household Office
14
The Right state that as the entirety of the topic is expressed in the first line of the Left’s poem, it lack care [nen nashi]. The Left respond that saying that the characters of the topic appear in the first line of our poem suggest the Right is unable to count correctly! As for the Right’s poem, we find no particular faults, but it is ordinary [mezurashiki ni arazu].
Shunzei’s judgement: The form of both poems is splendid [sugata wa yū ni koso haberumere]. In general, the mass of modern composition, whether or not it shows understanding of the form and diction of poetry [kinrai no utayomi no tomogara, sugata kotoba wa shireru ka shirazaru ka], also frequently fails to show enough attention to details of techique [bimyō no fūjō] and that I have cause to say this is certainly not laudable [kanshin serezaru koto]. However, the Right’s ‘the snow remains’ (yuki no okureite), seems somewhat contrived [sukoshi omoubeku], though the final one is excellent [yoroshikuhaberu]. Thus, it’s impossible to distinguish between the two poems.