Left (Win).
昔誰志賀の山路を踏みそめて人の心を花に見すらん
mukashi tare shiga no yamaji o fumisomete hito no kokoro o hana ni misuran |
In ages past, who was it that On the mountain paths of Shiga First set foot, that Men’s hearts be moved By the sight of blossom? |
141
Right.
故郷に思ふ人ある家づとは花にぞ見ゆる志賀の山越え
furusato ni omou hito aru iezuto wa hana ni zo miyuru shiga no yamagoe |
At home is The one I love: As a gift These blossoms would appear On the path across the Shiga Mountains. |
142
The Right say that the Left’s poem is particularly good this round, while the Left have no criticisms to make of the Right’s one either.
Shunzei says, ‘One has to wonder whether, following the final of the Left’s poem, there might not be men who foolishly pondered on blossom? And, in the Right’s the “gift for the one I love” (omou hito aru iezuto): how would the blossoms appear? Is it that the poet as broken off a spray? The two halves of the poem do not seem to fit appropriately together, which is a problem of mistaken emphasis. Thus, in the end, rather than the “gift”, in terms of form “in ages past who was it” must win.’