Left (Win).
埋火のあたりの円居飽かぬ間は夜床の衾よそにこそ見れ
| uzumibi no atari no matoi akanu ma wa yodoko no fusuma yoso ni koso mire |
A charcoal fire-pit, And friendly folk gathered around: While I would not have it end My night time bedding Seems of little point! |
585
Right.
片敷きの袖冴え渡る冬の夜は床に衾の甲斐も無きかな
| katashiki no sode saewataru fuyu no yo wa toko ni fusuma no kai mo naki kana |
Just my single Sleeve is so chill On this winter’s night, The blankets on my bed Seem to do no good at all… |
586
The Gentlemen of the Right state: we wonder about the use of ‘bedding of little point’ (fusuma yoso ni)? The Gentlemen of the Left state: we find no faults in the Right’s poem.
Shunzei’s judgement: Both poems are on ‘bedding’ (fusuma), with the Left saying that it seems of little purpose at a gathering around a charcoal fire-pit, and the Right, that it seems to be thin when the cold comes. So, we go from it doing no good, even if you do have it on, to it being pointless when you are happy and warm. What point are these poems trying to make, I wonder? The Left should win.