Left (Win).

山吹の花のさかりになりぬとや折知りがほに蛙鳴くらん

yamabuki no hana no sakari ni narinu to ya ori shirigao ni kawazu nakuran

Golden kerria Blooms their peak Have reached, so Seeming to know the season Do the frogs sing on.

Lord Suetsune.

157

Right.

谷水の岩もる音はうづもれてすだく河づの聲のみぞする

tanimizu no iwa moru oto wa uzumorete sudaku kawazu no koe nomi zo suru

Waters in the valley Soak the rocks – the sound Swallowed by Swarming frogs’ Singular songs.

Ietaka.

158

Both teams say that they consider the other’s poem to be ‘trite’ [kyūbutsu] this round.

Shunzei’s judgement: The Left’s poem certainly certainly has a conception [kokoro] which one is well-accustomed to hearing, but I am unable to recall exactly where. In form it is well-constructed [utazama yoroshikuhaberubeshi]. The Right’s initial “Waters in the valley soak the rocks – the sound swallowed” (tanimizu no iwa moru oto wa uzumorete) is excellent [yū], but the latter part is definitely old-fashioned [furite]. Thus, the Left must win.