Stags in the night.
Left
ひさかたのかつらのかげになくしかはひかりをかけて声ぞさやけき
hisakata no katsura no kage ni naku shika wa hikari o kakete koe zo sayakeki | In the eternal Silver trees’ glow The belling stag Is limned with light, and His voice sounds clear, indeed! |
A Court Lady
65
Right (Win)
天川秋の一夜のちぎりだにかた野に鹿の音をや鳴くらん
ama no kawa aki no hitoyo no chigiri dani katano ni shika no ne o ya nakuran | By the River of Heaven For a single autumn night’s Brief bond— Is that why a stag at Katano Does cry out so? |
Ietaka
66
The Right’s poem, by beginning with ‘By the River of Heaven / For a single autumn night’s / Brief bond’ and then continuing with ‘a stag at Katano’ sounds particularly gentle, evoking memories of bygone days when Prince Koresada sought lodging from the Weaver Maid when hunting at Katano—how charming it is. The Left’s poem overall is not particularly bad and seems to lack any obvious faults, but the Right’s poem surpasses it in every way: it is not one of the normal run of compositions and thus, it must win.