Battle of the Love Poems, part 2: Poem Number 41

In our last episode, we talked about a famous poetry contest in 960 which pitted two excellent poems against one another. For fans of the anime Chihayafuru, this contest is also mentioned in season one episode 23. Poem 40 by Taira no Kanemori was judged the winner, and this poem was the loser, though only just barely:

The author Mibu no Tadami (壬生忠見, dates unknown), son of Mibu no Tadamine (poem 30) was not a high-ranking or successful member of the Court. It is said that Tadami often appeared in provincial clothes and behaved like a country bumpkin. Even so, like his father, his skills as a poet earned him acclaim. Thus he was included among the Thirty Six Immortals of Poetry.

Mostow points out that even though the poem won 2nd place, it has been highly prized throughout the ages, just as poem 40 has been. According to my new book, what made this poem so prized is the way it inverts things between the upper verses (unrequited love) and lower verses (I have to hide it anyway from public eye). The ni keri in the third verse is an archaic way of expressing regret (poem 40 uses it too), or grumbling.

Mibu no Tadami was said to be so distraught over losing the contest that he wasted away and died, though this story may not have actually happened. Mostow points out that additional poems by the author in later collections, suggest that he was alive and active for many years to come. Nonetheless, although the story of Tadami’s death is a fabrication, it is likely, given his prospects, that Tadami was bitter over the loss.