At a time when she was living with relatives, and the bush-clover was blooming particularly beautifully, the master of the house was somewhere else and not communicating, so she sent this to him.
白露も心おきてや思ふらむぬしもたづねぬやどの秋はぎ
| siratuyu mo kokoro okite ya omoFuramu nusi mo tasunenu yado no aki Fagi |
Silver dewdrops Also fall on their hearts I feel; As the master pays no call On his dwelling’s autumn bush-clover. |
Chikuzen Wet Nurse
筑前乳母
Left.
筒井つゝ井筒にかけし丈よりも過ぬや通ふ心深さは
| tsutsui tsutsu itsutsu ni kakeshi take yori mo suginu ya kayou kokoro fukasa wa |
The pipe well Covered over: More than its height Have passed The depths of our hearts. |
Kenshō.
853
Right (Win).
筒井つにかけしためしをいかに我結び知らせん春の若水
| tsutsui tsu ni kakeshi tameshi o ika ni ware musubi shirasen haru no wakamizu |
The pipe well Was covered once, So how can I Tell you that cupping my hands For Spring’s water, makes me young once more. |
Lord Takanobu.
854
The Right state: the upper section of the Left’s poem is little different from its origin poem, while its lower part is grating on the ear. The Left state: the Right’s poem has no particular faults to mention.
In judgement: in addition to the use of ‘the pipe well’ (tsutsui tsu) by both Left and Right not being that unusual, the Left’s ‘pipe well’ having surpassed its height does not sound that profound in conception. ’Spring’s water, makes me young’ (haru no wakamizu) isn’t bad, so the Right wins.