sanomi ya wa kokoro arubeki hototogisu nezame no sora ni hitogoe mogana
Not much of The heart can you know, O, cuckoo, but On waking from the sky I would hear a single call.
A Court Lady 33
Right
やはた山むかひの里の郭公しのびしかたの声もかはらず
yawatayama mukai no sato no hototogisu shinobishi kata no koe mo kawarazu
By Yawata Mountain, At the estate of Mukai, A cuckoo, Fondly remembers someone With a changeless song!
Lord Ietaka 34
The Left’s poem would seem to fail to reflect the essential meaning of the topic of cuckoos by having it not yet being heard, and thus its overall technique seems dreadful. The Right’s poem also lacks any superlative elements, they must tie.
The Gentlemen of the Right state: the Left’s poem has no faults. The Gentlemen of the Left state: the initial part of the Right’s poem has an antiquated feel.
In judgement: the Left’s ‘cuckoo’ (hototogisu) and the Right’s ‘mountain pheasant’ (yamadori) are of the same level.
