When she was in attendance on Empress Akiko, Her Majesty’s mien was that of recollecting a certain situation with His Majesty, Former Emperor Ichijō, so she presented this the following morning, after she had withdrawn from Her Majesty’s presence.
つねよりもまたぬれそひし袂かなむかしをかけて落ちし涙に
| tune yori mo mata nuresoFisi tamoto kana mukasi wo kakete wotisi namida ni | More than ever, Soaked through are My sleeves! For bygone days I stored up The tears I let fall now… |
Akazome Emon
Left (Win).
今はたゞ昔語りになり果てて戀も我身も離れましかば
| ima wa tada mukashi gatari ni narihatete koi mo wa ga mi mo hanaremashikaba |
When the present A tale of old has Quite become; Our love and myself both, Would they be better gone? |
Lord Kanemune.
777
Right.
世の人の昔語りになりなまし憂きに堪へたる我身ならずは
| yo no hito no mukashi gatari ni narinamashi uki no taetaru wa ga mi narazu wa |
For everyone A tale of old I’ll not become, for Enduing the pains of love – That is not me. |
Lord Tsune’ie.
778
The Right wonder ‘where’ the Left ‘would be better gone’ (hanaremashikaba)? The Left say the Right’s poem expresses commonplace feelings [kikinaretaru kokochisu].
In judgement: ‘Where would they be better gone’ (asahanaretaru) means, how would they be gone. This really is an expression with which I am unfamiliar. In any case, it seems poor reasoning [yoshikaranu yoshi ni ya]. However, the Right, having ‘I’ll not become’ (narinamashi) and ‘is not’ (narazu wa) in the initial and final sections of the poem is a fault. While one still wonders ‘where’ the Left is, it must win.