kimi ga yo wa nagai no ura no hamakaze ni tatsu shiranami no kazu mo shirarezu
My Lord’s reign: At Nagai Bay The beach breezes Rouse the whitecaps In number entirely unknown.
Controller’s Graduate 65
Right
きみがよをまつちのやまのこまつばらちよのけしきを見るぞうれしき
kimi ga yo o matsuchi no yama no komatsubara chiyo no keshiki o miru zo ureshiki
My Lord’s reign Awaiting upon Matsuchi Mountain The pine seedling groves The sight for a thousand ages Joyfully will see!
Kerin’in Graduate 66
It’s impossible to decide on a winner or loser between the Left and the Right here in terms of conception, diction and overall style. To put it in general terms, I must make this round a further tie.
Neither Left nor Right is remarkable, but nor do they have any faults to mention. I’d make this round a tie.
ayashiku mo shigure ni kaeru tamoto kana ina no kasawara sashite yukedomo
How strange that From the shower I shelter Beneath my sleeves! Though into the umbrella of the dwarf-bamboo groves of Ina Is where I’m heading…
A Court Lady 3
Right
ぬるれども嬉しくもあるか紅葉ばの色増す雨の雫とおもへば
nuredomo ureshiku mo aru ka momijiba no iro masu ame no shizuku to omoeba
Soaked, yet Happy am I! For the scarlet leaves Take on brighter hues with these rain Drops, I feel…
Lord Akikuni 4
Toshiyori states: The first poem’s section on ‘the umbrella of the dwarf-bamboo groves of Ina’ is well expressed, but then is ‘shower I shelter’ referring to clothing? The second poem can be read as meaning that the speaker is happily being soaked by raindrops standing beneath scarlet leaves on one particular day, but getting drenched by any old shower, even if it’s one which stains leaves scarlet is not something that would make one happy and, sounds tedious. Both poems sound vague, so they should tie.
Mototoshi states: ‘the shower I shelter / Beneath my sleeves’ is better than ‘Happy am I!’
