Round Seven
Left (Tie)
色色にそむる紅葉に立田姫心のほどのみえもするかな
| iroiro ni somuru momiji ni tatsutahime kokoro no hodo no mie mo suru kana | In the multitude of shades Dyeing the scarlet leaves, Princess Tatsuta’s Deep thought and care Can be seen! |
Sadanaga
85
Right
いろいろにとり染めてけり立田姫はしむらごなる衣手の杜
| iroiro ni torisometekeri tatsutahime hashi muragonaru koromode no mori | In a multitude of shades Has her dye taken; Princess Tatsuta stains The edges dark and light of The sacred grove at Koromode. |
Lord Suetsune
86
The Left has nothing remarkable about it, and its ending is old-fashioned, I think. The Right, too, seems to be in the eccentric style, and so it’s impossible for me to say anything else about either of them.
Left (Win)
恋わたる夜はのさむしろ波かけてかくや待けん宇治の橋姫
| koi wataru yowa no samushiro nami kakete kaku ya machiken uji no hashihime |
Crossed in love At night my mat of straw Is washed by waves; Is this how she waits, The maid at Uji bridge. |
A Servant Girl
1019
Right
いにしへの宇治の橋守身をつまば年経る恋を哀とも見よ
| inishie no uji no hashimori mi o tsumaba toshi furu koi o aware tomo miyo |
Ancient Warden of Uji bridge, If you pinch me, How I have aged with love for you Will you know, and pity me… |
Jakuren
1020
Left and Right together state: we find no faults to mention.
In judgement: the style of both the Left’s ‘maid at Uji bridge’ (uji no hashihime) and the Right’s ‘Warden of Uji bridge’ (uji no hashimori) is pleasant, and the Left’s ‘Is this how she waits, the maid at Uji bridge’ (kaku ya machiken uji no hashihime) draws on the conception of a tale from long ago, and the configuration also seems deeply moving. Thus, the Left should win.
Left.
葛城や久米路の橋にあらねども絶えぬる中は渡る物かは
| kazuragi ya kumeji no hashi ni aranedomo taenuru naka wa wataru mono ka wa |
At Kazuragi The bridge of Kumeji It is not, yet Can a relationship that’s done Ever continue on? |
Lord Suetsune
1017
Right (Win).
葛城や渡しもはてぬ岩橋も夜の契はありとこそ聞け
| kazuragi ya watashi mo hatenu iwabashi mo yoru no chigiri wa ari to koso kike |
At Kazuragi lies The unfinished Bridge of stone: A vow at night There was, I hear! |
Ietaka
1018
Both Left and Right state: we find no faults to mention.
In judgement: both poems refer to ‘the bridge of Kazuragi, while the Left has ‘a relationship that’s done’ (taenuru naka). As the bridge, from the very beginning, was never finished, it is not appropriate to say that it is ‘done’. ‘A vow at night’ (yoru no chigiri) seems to be referring to Kodaigimi’s ‘cannot endure’ (taenubeshi). The Right has certainly matched the conception of the bridge. Thus, I make the Right the winner.
