Rice seedling Planters[i]
Left
てもたゆくむろのはやなへとりもあへずおのがおのがもいそぐめるかな
| te mo tayuku muro no hanae tori mo aezu ono ga ono ga mo isogumeru kana | With gentle hands The young seedlings in the root-house Swiftly taking Each and every one Hurries along! |
5
Right
なはしろとはるみしものをいつのまにたごおりたちてさなへとるらん
| nawashiro to haru mishi mono o itsu no ma ni tago oritachite sanae toruran | The seed-shoots that I saw in springtime have, In but a moment, by The lads standing in the paddies, Taken for seedlings. |
6
While it lacks a depth of conception of fallow paddies resembling the marshy mud between the reeds, surveying the scene in line with this time of year, it is certainly the case that men planting rice-seedlings appear—this is the superficial content of the Left’s poem, but its diction is somewhat stiff. The Right seem superior for its balance between the initial and latter section of the poem, it’s bright overall impression and its configuration implying the swift flow of water around the seedlings.
| tori mo aezu kokorogokoro ni isogedomo ama wa so shiranu muro no hayanae | Swiftly over Both conceptions Have I hurried, yet As a fisherman, am ignorant of Young seedlings in the root-house! |
Judge 3
[i] Torinaehito 取苗人