Left (Win).

君が經ん世を九日の今日殊に菊を摘みてぞ年を積むべき

kimi ga hen yo o kokonoka no kyō koto ni kiku o tsumite zo toshi o tsumubeki

That you, my Lord, will pass through The world – on the Ninth – Today, above all We pick chrysanthemums that Your years may pile upon each other.

Lord Ari’ie.

447

Right.

君が世は今日摘む菊に置く露の積もりて淵とならん代までに

kimi ga yo wa kyō tsumu kiku ni oku tsuyu no tsumorite fuchi to naran yo made ni

My Lord, your life: Today, I pluck chrysanthemums Dropped with dew; Mount up and a deep, deep pool Become – until then let life last!

Lord Tsune’ie.

448

The Right have no criticisms to make of the Left’s poem. The Left say that the Right’s overly resembles Lord Toshiyori’s ‘The upper pine branches/Dropped with dew’.

Shunzei’s judgement: In addition to being old-fashioned [furuki], the Right’s poem has ‘life’ (yo) in both its initial and final sections. The Left must win.