Left.
巳に過ぎて午こそ物は悲しけれ戀や未の歩み成らむ
| mi ni sugite muma koso mono wa kanashikere koi ya hitsuji no ayuminaramu |
More than I can bear, past the hour of the snake, The hour of the horse is All the more sad; Love is like a sheep’s Steps to the slaughter… |
Kenshō.
807
Right (Win).
命さへ身の終りにや成ぬらん今日暮すべき心地こそせぬ
| inochi sae mi no owari ni ya narinuran kyō kurasubeki kokochi koso senu |
Has my very life At the hour of snake, its end Reached? That I should live throughout this day, Is something I cannot bear… |
Lord Takanobu.
808
The Right state: we cannot admire the Left’s poem. The Left state: in the Right’s poem ‘Has my very life at the hour of snake, its end’ (inochi sae mi no owari) sounds as if it is referring to two different matters.
In judgement: the Left’s poem simply says that after the hour of the snake comes the hour of the horse. It is unnecessary to say such things. The final line certainly seems to have nothing to do with anything. As for the fault of the Right’s poem, ‘life’ and ‘self’ have always had different meanings. Its first line, too, sounds elegant. Once more, the Right should win.