Left.
にほはずはふゞく空とぞ思はまし花散りまがふ志賀の山越え
| niowazu wa fuguku sora to zo omowamashi hana chirimagau shiga no yamagoe |
Were there no fragrance, Wind-driven skies, One would think, Blossoms scattered all around The path across the Shiga Mountains. |
139
Right (Win).
道もせに花の白雪降りとぢて冬にぞかへる志賀の山越え
| michi mo se ni hana no shirayuki furitojite fuyu ni zo kaeru shiga no yamagoe |
The path narrows to naught, A blizzard of blossom Falling and settling: Winter has come once more To the path across the Shiga Mountains. |
140
The Right query the Left’s use of ‘wind-driven’ (fuguku), wondering whether it’s appropriate in poetry, while the Left have no criticisms to make of the Right’s poem.
Shunzei remarks testily that, ‘The Left appear to have regrettably little sense of how to compose on the topic of ‘the path across the Shiga Mountains’, an impression which could have been reversed if only ‘a mountain path’ (yama michi) had been mentioned. The Right’s ‘winter has come once more to the path across the Shiga Mountains’ (fuyu ni zo kaeru shiga no yamagoe), however, is charming. Thus, it must win.’