Round Nine
Left
影きよく月をよこぎるうき雲は秋の名をさへけがしつるかな
| kage kiyoku tsuki yokogiru ukigumo wa aki no na sae kegashitsuru kana | The pure light of The moon crossing go The drifting clouds— The very name of autumn Have they besmirched! |
Arifusa
65
Right (Win)
照る月を浪のうへにてみる時ぞますみのかがみいる心ちする
| teru tsuki o nami no ue nite miru toki zo masumi no kagami iru kokochisuru | The shining moon Rests atop the waves, and When I gaze upon it, Within the clearest of mirrors Does it lie, I feel. |
Narinaka
66
What to make of the sound of the Left’s ‘besmirched the very name of autumn’? The Right does not seem to differ markedly from the conception of ‘Hundredfold Polished Mirror’[1] where it says that the moon ‘atop the waves’ is ‘all apiece with the autumn waters’ deeps’, does it. The Right should win.
[1] This is a reference to a poem by Bai Juyi, Bailianjing 百練鏡, contained in the Collected Works of Master Bai (Hakushi monjū 白氏文集), about a mirror which had been polished a hundred times. Kiyosuke quotes from the poem in his judgement, referring to the following passage: 江心波上舟中鋳 五月五日日午時 瓊粉金膏磨瑩已 化為一片秋潭水 jiangxinbo shang zhou zhong zhu / wu yue wu ri ri wushi / qiong fen jin gao mo ying yi / hua wei yipian qiu tan shui ‘In a boat atop the waves at the heart of the Yangtse / At noon on the 5th day of the Fifth Month / Polished with gemmed powdered seashells in golden oil / ‘Tis transformed and becomes all apiece with the autumn waters’ deeps.’