Left (Win).
さまざまの花をば菊に分とめて墻根に知らぬ霜枯の比
| samazama no hana o ba kiku ni waketomete kakine ni shiranu shimogare no koro |
Of all the many Flowers, the chrysanthemums Alone are last; I knew not they were by the fence, and Now burned by frost… |
493
Right.
移ろふか又咲花もなき花と菊にも染めつ深き心を
| utsurou ka mata saku hana mo naki hana to kiku ni mo sometsu fukaki kokoro o |
Is it their changing hues? Later blooming flowers Are there flowers none, so The chrysanthemums stain The depths of my heart… |
494
The Right state that the Left’s poem is difficult to understand, and that it would have better to have had ‘unknown to all’ (shirarenu) in place of ‘I knew not’ (shiranu).The Left state that the ‘diction of the Right’s poem does not flow smoothly’ [kotoba, todokohoritari].
Shunzei’s judgement: The Left’s ‘alone at last’ (waketomete) is something I wonder at the meaning of, however, the final section is excellent [yoroshiku haberubeshi]. The Right’s poem appears to express the conception [kokoro aru yō ni wa haberu o], but due to the dual use of ‘flowers’ (hana), ‘chrysanthemums’ (kiku) are reduced to a hidden topic [kakushidai naru yō naru], and this sounds insufficient. The Left wins.