Round Eleven

Left (Win)

われこそは野べをば宿にうつしつれたがさそひこし虫の音ぞこは

ware koso wa nobe oba yado ni utsushitsure ta ga sasoikoshi mushi no nezoko wa

‘Twas I, indeed, who The meadow to my dwelling Shifted, but Who is it has been invited here By the insects’ songs?

Shun’e Tayū no kimi
21

Right

秋の野の千くさの花の色色を心ひとつにそめてこそみれ

aki no no no chikusa no hana no iroiro o kokoro hitotsu ni somete koso mire

The autumn meadows Thousand grasses’ blooms Have hues a’plenty, but My heart, but one, Has been dyed, you see!

Mikawa, Court Lady to His Excellency
22

The Left sounds as if the poet is being comforted by the insects which is at some variance from the essential meaning of the topic, and yet when I listen to it, it has an abundance of charm. The Right doesn’t differ, does it, from Kanemasa’s poem in the Poetry Match held at the Residence of the Minister of the Centre in Gen’ei 2 [1119]:

秋くれば千くさに匂ふ花の色の心ひとつにいかでしむらん

aki kureba chikusa ni niou hana no iro no kokoro hitotsu ni ikade shimuran

When the autumn comes The thousand grasses glow With flowers’ hues, but Why, then, does my heart with but one Seem to be stained?

Thus, the Left wins.