Left.

分け來つる情のみかはそが菊の色もてはやす白妙の袖

wakekitsuru nasake nomi ka wa sogagiku no iro motehayasu shirotae no sode

To tell between them Does not need soft thoughts alone ? Yellow chrysanthemumsf Hues combined with Sleeves of white mulberry cloth.

Kenshō.

445

Right.

長月の今日九日といひ顔に折り得て見ゆる白菊の花

nagatsuki no kyō kokonoka to ii kao ni oriete miyuru shiragiku no hana

‘Of the Longest Month Today is the Ninth day,’ So seem to say, Plucked and in my sight, These white chrysanthemums.

The Provisional Master of the Empress’ Household Office.

446

The Right say that the meaning of sogagiku is unclear. The Left respond, ‘They are yellow chrysanthemums. Emperor Ninmyō [Soga] was known to be fond of the colour yellow and so this is a term for yellow chrysanthemums.’ The Right then continue, ‘The Man’yōshū uses the term sogai (“rear”), in poems with the conception of “pursuing after” [oisugai no kokoro nari]. So are these not, therefore, chrysanthemums which are later in blooming on riverbanks, perhaps?’

The Left content themselves with saying that the Right’s poem shows no particular brilliance of construction, nor significant faults.

Shunzei’s judgement: The Left’s ‘Does not need soft thoughts alone’ (nasake nomi ka wa) is by no means bad in the context of this poem [kono uta ni torite wa ashikarazarubeshi]. The explanation about yellow chrysanthemums is, indeed, one that has had some circulation recently. Lord Toshiyori apparently declared sogagiku to be ‘a single stem of yellow chrysanthemums’. The Right’s other query on the relationship with the Man’yō term sogai, does not seem to be without merit [muri ni arazaru]. It has been said that the Right’s poem lacks faults, but I cannot appreciate ‘so seem to say’ (ii kao ni) as proper diction [shokisebekarazaru kono kotoba haberubeki]. In the absence of definite proof from the reign of Emperor Ninmyō about the sense of sogagiku, I make this round a tie.