Left.
うら若き弥生の野邊のさいたづま春は末ばに成にける哉
| urawakaki yayoi no nobe no saitazuma haru wa sueba ni narinikeru kana |
Fresh and green The Third Month fields of Fleeceflower; Spring, its end Has reached, indeed! |
177
Right (Win).
いかなれば咲きそむるより藤の花暮れ行春の色を見すらむ
| ikanareba sakisomuru yori fuji no hana kureyuku haru no iro o misuramu |
For some reason With the first blush of Wisteria blooms, Departing Spring Does show its hues. |
178
The Right wonder, ‘Whether “fresh and green the Third Month” (urawakaki yayoi) is quite appropriate?’, (meaning that associations of youth with the Third Month, which marked the end of Spring seem incongruous). The Left have no particular remarks to make about the Right’s poem.
Shunzei states, ‘Both the Left’s “fresh and green the Third Month” (urawakaki yayoi) and the Right’s “for some reason” (ikanareba) are of the same quality, but in addition, “wisteria blooms” (fuji no hana) is better than “fleeceflower” (saitazuma), and so its final stanza is somewhat better. It should win.’