Round Seven

Left (Win)

萩がはな分けゆく程は古郷へかへらぬ人もにしきをぞきる

hagi ga hana wakeyuku hodo wa furusato e kaeranu hito mo nishiki o zo kiru

When through the bush-clover blooms He forges his way, To his ancient home Never to return—that man, too, Wears a fine brocade!

Minamoto no Arifusa, Minor Captain in the Inner Palace Guards, Right Division

13

Right

声たてて鳴くむしよりも女郎花いはぬ色こそ身にはしみけれ

koe tatete naku mushi yori mo ominaeshi iwanu iro koso mi ni wa shimikere

They lift their songs in Plaintive cries, but far more than the insects ‘Tis the maidenflower’s Wordless hue that truly Pierce my soul!

Junior Assistant Minister of Central Affairs Sadanaga
14

The Left is well-composed, but what is the Right’s ‘wordless hue’? Are we supposed to imagine that the expression means ‘silent yellow’? This is difficult to grasp, isn’t it. Whatever way you look at it, the Left seems to win.