Left.
一年のはかなき夢は覺めぬらん三世の佛の鐘の響きに
| hito tose no hakanaki yume wa oboenuran miyo no hotoke no kane no hibiki ni |
A year is but A fleeting dream I feel, while The three worlds’ Buddhas’ Bells yet sound… |
599
Right.
唱へつる佛の御名は朝日にてやがて消えゆく一年の露
| tonaetsuru hotoke no mina wa asahi nite yagate kieyuku hito tose no tsuyu |
The proclaimed Buddhas’ Honoured names are As the morning sun, Finally dispelling The year’s dewfall. |
600
The Gentlemen of both Left and Right state: we find no faults with the other team’s poem.
Shunzei’s judgement: the Left’s poem, saying, ‘A fleeting dream I feel’ (hakanaki yume wa oboenuran) leading to ‘The three worlds’ Buddhas’ bells yet sound’ (miyo no hotoke no kane no hibiki) is particularly fine in configuration and conception [sugatakotoba kotoni yoroshiku koso]. The Right’s poem, too, starting ‘Buddhas’ Honoured names are as the morning sun’ (hotoke no mina wa asahi nite) and then having ‘Finally dispelling the year’s dewfall’ (yagate kieyuku hito tose no tsuyu) is reminiscent of the passage from the Samantabhadra Contemplation Sutra ‘many sins are like frost or dew – one can avoid and extinguish them with the sun of the Buddha’s blessings’; both poems move the heart and so I cannot say which is better or worse. Thus, the round ties.