In the year after that in which the Teishi Emperor relinquished the throne, he held a maidenflower match, making no instruction as to who should lead the teams of the Left and Right, so His Majesty and Her Majesty, the Empress, fulfilled those roles.

Left

くさがくれあきすぎぬべきをみなへしにほひゆゑにやまづみえぬらむ

kusagakure aki suginubeki ominaeshi nioi yue ni ya mazu mienuramu

Hidden ‘mongst the grasses Has she spent the autumn, This maidenflower— Is it for her glow that She is soon discovered?

1[1]

Right

あらがねのつちのしたにてあきへしはけふのうらてをまつをみなへし

aragane no tsuchi no shita nite aki heshi wa kyō no urate o matsu ominaeshi

As ore Below the earth Has she spent the autumn, For today’s first round Awaiting—a maidenflower.

2[2]

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[1] Shinsen man’yōshū 508

[2] Shinsen man’yōshū 530; Fubokushō 4229.