Left.
椎柴は冬こそ人に知られけれ言問ふ霰殘す木枯
| shiishba wa fuyu koso hito ni shirarekere koto tou arare nokosu kogarashi |
The brushwood, That ‘tis winter to folk Does tell; Hail raising cries from leave Left by the freezing winds. |
575
Right (Win).
深山邊を夕越え來れば椎柴の末葉に傳ふ玉霰哉
| fukayamabe yū koekureba shiishiba no ureba ni tsutau tama arare kana |
Just on the edge of mountain deeps, When evening has passed by, The brushwood’s Leaf-tips display Gemstone hail! |
The Provisional Master of the Empress’ Household Office.
576
The Right state that the final section of the Left’s poem is ‘fierce’ [arashi]. The Left state that the Right’s ‘gemstone hail’ (tama arare) ‘sounds poor’ [kikiyokarazu].
Shunzei’s judgement: The Gentlemen of the Right have stated that the final section of the Left’s poem is ‘fierce’ – how can they say this? I would say that it appears perfectly pleasant [yoroshiku koso miehabere, ikaga]. However, the Right’s ‘when evening has passed by’ (yū koekureba) and ‘leaf-tips’ (ureba) seem a rather overblown style to me [kotogotoshiki fūtei ni miehaberi]. ‘Gemstone’ (tama), though, in addition to being a word used to praise something, is used in conjunction with ‘hail’, in ‘the echoes are chill as pearls falling one by one from a dragon’s jaw’ . There is nothing to criticise about it. Thus, the Right should win.
Left.
落ち積もる朽葉も下に無かりけり色も變らぬ嶺の椎柴
| ochitsumoru kuchiba mo shita ni nakarikeri iro mo kawaranu mine no shiishiba |
Fallen, piled Leaves underfoot Are there none; Unchanging are the hues Of brushwood on the peak. |
573
Right.
椎柴のしばしと思し世の中の四十の冬に成りけるかな
| shiishiba no shibashi to omoishi yo no naka no yosoji no fuyu ni narikeru kana |
To brushwood Briefly turned my thoughts Within this sad world Forty winters Have I reached. |
574
The Right can find nothing to criticise in the Left’s poem. The Left say, ‘This is a personal lament, as in the previous round.’
Shunzei’s judgement: ‘The Left’s poem sounds like a congratulatory poem (shūgen) without being one, and its diction and overall conception are splendid [sugata kotoba yoroshiku]. With regard to the Right’s poem, while it is true that one does not normally compose personal laments for poetry competitions [jukkai wa uta’awase ni uchimakasenu koto], it is not the case that there are absolutely no examples of this. While it is true that I find the diction and overall conception of the poem difficult to grasp [uta no sugata kotoba koso nanigoto to wa kokoroezu nagara], it sounds tasteful [yū ni kikoete], and it’s difficult to declare a winner this round. I must make it a tie.’
Left (Win).
幾年に我なりぬらん椎柴のしばしはせても嬉しかりしを
| ikutose ni ware narinuran shiishiba no shibashi wa setemo ureshikarishi o |
How many years Has it been since I Broke the brushwood to reach Fourth Rank? I has been a while, and yet I was happy then… |
571
Right.
位山道の椎柴年ふりて超え行く人ぞ羨まれける
| kuraiyama michi no shiishiba toshi furite koeyuku hito zo urayamarekeru |
Rank is a mountain Trail; the brushwood I broke to reach the Fourth Some years ago, and Those men who cross to greater heights, How I do envy them! |
572
Both teams say that their poems are ‘no more than an expression of personal dissatisfaction’.
Shunzei’s judgement: Both poems are, indeed, similar personal laments [jukkai]. The Right’s ‘trail; the brushwood’ (michi no shiishiba) sounds more modern. The Left’s poem, though, should win.