Left.
空晴れて山の端出づる日影にも乾きもやらぬ袖の上かな
| sora harete yama no ha izuru hikage ni mo kawaki mo yaranu sode no ue kana |
The sky clears and From the mountains’ edge appears The sunlight, yet It cannot even dry The surface of my sleeves… |
Lord Ari’ie.
797
Right (Win).
澤に出て朝菜摘むとも覺えぬあやしきほどに濡るゝ袖哉
| sawa ni idete asana tsumu tomo oboenu ayashiki hodo ni nururu sode kana |
Going out to the marshes and Gathering greens for breakfast – I cannot recall at all; How strange it is that My sleeves are then so drenched… |
Lord Tsune’ie.
798
The Right state: we find no faults to mention in the Left’s poem. The Left state: recalling gathering greens for breakfast is something one can do in the afternoon or the evening. In addition, ‘I cannot recall’ (oboenu) is prosaic in content.
In judgement: the Left’s poem simply says that the sunlight is unable to dry one’s sleeves, and contains little conception of love. The Right’s ‘sleeves’ sound as if they have been most extraordinarily drenched, so the Right should win.