Left (Win).
九月の有明の空を見て後ぞ秋のあはれの果ては知りぬる
| nagatsuki no ariake no sora o mite nochi zo aware no hate wa shirinuru |
In the Longest Month At dawn, the skies I’ve seen, and That there is nothing more sad Have I come to know. |
475
Right.
暮れて行秋もそなたぞ恨めしき傾く月の影を見しより
| kureteyuku aki mo sonata zo urameshiki katabuku tsuki no kage o mishi yori |
Turning to dusk Is autumn, too; that direction I despise, with The sinking moon’s Light in my sight! |
476
As the previous round.
Shunzei’s judgement: The Left’s ‘At dawn, the skies I’ve seen’ (ariake no sora o mite nochi zo) and the Right’s ‘The sinking moon’s light in my sight!’ (katabuku tsuki no kage o mishi yori), in terms of configuration, have neither strengths nor faults [sugata shōretsu naki], but ‘that direction’ (sonata zo) sounts overly simplistic [kotozokite kikoe]. Thus, the Left must win.