Left (Win).
宇津の山越えし昔の跡古りて蔦の枯れ葉に秋風ぞ吹く
| utsu no yama koeshi mukashi no ato furite tsuta no kareba ni akikaze zo fuku |
Utsu Mountain, Crossed in times of old by Ruins, ageing; on The withered ivy leaves The winds of autumn are a’blowing… |
431
Right.
淺茅たつ庭の色だにあるものを軒端の蔦はうち時雨つゝ
| asaji tatsu niwa no iro dani aru mono o nokiba no tsuta wa uchishiguretsutsu |
The cogon-grass grows In my garden, but the only hint of colour Is in The ivy by my eaves, Wet with constant showers… |
432
As the previous round.
Shunzei’s judgement: Both Left and Right seem superb in form and diction [sugata kotoba wa yoroshiku miehaberu], but the Right’s ‘cogon-grass grows’ (asaji tatsu) is pretentious [yauyaushiku], and I wonder what to make [ikaga to oboehaberu] of the final ‘wet with constant showers’ (uchishiguretsutsu), but the conception [kokoro] of the Left’s ‘Utsu Mountain’, with its ‘ancient ruins’ brought back to memory by ‘on the withered ivy leaves the winds of autumn a’blowing’, is particularly tasteful [en]. Thus, the Left certainly wins.
Left (Win).
秋よたゞ眺め捨ても出なまし此里のみの夕と思はば
| aki yo tada nagamesutetemo idenamashi kono sato nomi no yūbe to omowaba |
O, Autumn! Could I escape you I would leave This dwelling, were it alone Enveloped in evening.. |
383
Right.
眺めつる軒端の萩の音信て松風になる夕暮の空
| nagametsuru nokiba no hagi no otozurete matsukaze ni naru yūgure no sora |
Gazing At the bush clover ‘neath my eaves, A visitor’s step Awaiting, carried by the pine-brushed wind, From the evening skies… |
384
Neither team has any criticisms of the other’s poem.
Shunzei’s judgement: There is no distinction to make between the diction or emotional import of either poem. There is, of course, no reason to expect the wind not to blow through the pine trees, when it brushes the bush clover. I feel that the sentiment of this poem’s ‘pine-brushed wind’ (matsukaze ni naru) resembles that of Round One Hundred and Ninety’s ‘Insects sing from the cogon grasses in my garden’ (mushi no ne ni naru niwa no asajū), but is somewhat inferior. The Left, though, truly captures the feeling.
Left.
秋の夜は窓打つ雨に夢覺めて軒端にまさる袖の玉水
| aki no yo wa mado utsu ame ni yume samete nokiba ni masaru sode no tamamizu |
On an autumn night Rain beating ‘gainst my widow Wakes me from my dreams, Falling from the eaves, Yet many more are the droplets on my sleeves. |
365
Right.
見る夢も窓打つ雨に驚きて枕に秋の哀をぞ知る
| miru yume mo mado utsu ame ni odorokite makura ni aki no aware o zo shiru |
Dreaming, Rain beating ‘gainst my window Starts me awake; Upon my lonely pillow, autumn’s Sharp sadness do I feel. |
The Provisional Master of the Empress’ Household Office.
366
Neither team has any criticisms of the other’s poem this round.
Shunzei agrees: ‘Both poems are superb in both style and form and, in addition, the initial sections are generally similar, but in terms of the concluding sections, the Left’s is slightly deeper. Thus, the Left wins.’
Left (Tie).
いつとなく思亂れて過ぐる世にうら山しきは遊ぶいとゆふ
| itsu to naku omoimidarete suguru yo ni urayamashiki wa asobu itoyū |
Unendingly Suffering I pass my time within this world; How I envy, The wavering haze… |
101
Right (Tie).
空に知れ春の軒端に遊ぶ糸の思ふ筋なき身の行衛をば
| sora ni shire haru no nokiba ni asobu ito no omousujinaki mi no yukue oba |
Learn from the heavens! Above my eaves in springtime, Wavering fronds To my disjointed thoughts Show the way… |
102
Neither team has anything special to say about the other’s poem.
Shunzei states, ‘Both poems have splendid poetic form on a theme of the poet bewailing his lot. They must tie.’