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.’