Round Twenty-Five
Left
恋ひしなん後は煙とのぼりなばたなびく雲をそれとだにみよ
koishinan nochi wa keburi to noborinaba tanabiku kumo o sore to dani miyo I shall die of love for you, and
Iemoto
Right
我が身だに思ふにたがふ物なればことわりなりや人のつらきは
wa ga mi dani omou ni tagau mono nareba kotowarinari ya hito no tsuraki wa My sorry self
Moromitsu
The Right made me feel that’s how it is. It’s charming.
Round Twenty-Four
Love
Left (Win)
恋しさのなぐさむ方やなからましつらき心をおもひませずは
koishisa no nagusamu kata ya nakaramashi tsuraki kokoro o omoimasezu wa I wish my love for you
Lord Kiyosuke
Right
君こずはうちへもいらじはらひつるねやのおもはむ事もはづかし
kimi kozu wa uchi e mo iraji haraitsuru neya no omowamu koto wa hazukashi You have not come, so
Shun’e
Both are elegant, yet what comes after ‘within’ is not something which one would really feel, so I would say the Right loses.
Round Twenty-Three
Left (Win)
雪ふかみしづのふせ屋もうづもれて煙ばかりぞしるしなりける
yuki fukami shizu no fuseya mo uzumorete keburi bakari zo shirushi narikeru Snow so deep that
Kinshige
Right
花の春もみぢの秋もしるかりし松の木ずゑもみえぬ白雪
hana no haru momiji no aki mo shirukarishi matsu no kozue mo mienu shirayuki By blossom is spring, and
Kūnin
The Left poem’s conception of ‘sign of smoke’ sounds particularly profound. As for the Right, it is possible for enough snow to fall to conceal a pine’s lower leaves, too, so the poem does not sound satisfying.
Round Twenty-Two
Snow
Left (Win)
霜がれのまがきの中に雪ふれば菊より後の花もありけり
shimogare no magaki no naka ni yuki fureba kiku yori nochi no hana mo arikeri When, burned by frost,
Suketaka
Right
花さけば雪かとみせて雪ふれば花かとみするみよしのの山
hana sakeba yuki ka to misete yuki fureba hana ka to misuru miyoshino no yama When the blossom blooms
Kūnin
Both are elegant, but even so the Right should lose.
Round Twenty-One
Left (Win)
小倉山木木のもみぢのくれなゐはみねの嵐のおろすなりけり
ogurayama kigi no momiji no kurenai wa mine no arashi no orosu narikeri On gloomy Mount Ogura
Lord Kiyosuke
Right
fukaku asaki momijiba nagaru asukagawa fuchise wa iro ni arawarenikeri Across both depths and shallows
Shun’e
Neither of these is bad. The Right violates the five syllable pattern; the Left has no faults.
Round Twenty
Scarlet Leaves
Left (Tie)
秋されば暁つゆにいもが袖まきぎの山ににほふもみぢば
aki sareba akatsuki tsuyu ni imo ga sode makigi no yama ni niou momijiba When the autumn comes,
Masashige
Right
下染はおなじみどりにみし程も紅葉の色のうすくこきかな
shitazome wa onaji midori ni mishi hodo mo momiji no iro no usuku koki kana First dyed
Kūnin
The Left has a lofty tone, yet the Right is still smooth. Thus, I make this a tie.
Round Nineteen
Left (Win)
うちはらふ枕のちりもかくれなくあれたる宿をてらす月影
uchiharau makura no chiri mo kakurenaku aretaru yado o terasu tsukikage Needing to be swept away,
Taifu
Right
秋の夜の月みる袖におく露やひるにかはれるしるしなるらん
aki no yo no tsuki miru sode ni oku tsuyu ya hiru ni kawareru shirushi naruran On an autumn night
Yorisuke
In both the moon is bright, and I feel they reflect the essential meaning of the topic, but as its diction is currently slightly more familiar, I make the Left the winner. It would be possible to call this a tie, too, though.
Round Seventeen
Left
夜もすがらをばすて山の月をみて昔にかよふ我がこころかな
yomosugara obasuteyama no tsuki o mite mukashi kayou wa ga kokoro kana All night long
Lord Kiyosuke
Right (Win)
山のはに雲のよこぎるよひのまは出でても月ぞ猶またれける
yama no ha ni kumo no yokogiru yoi no ma wa idete mo tsuki zo nao matarekeru Along the mountains’ edge
Atsuyori
Round Sixteen
The Moon
Left (Tie)
今よりはふけ行くまでに月はみしその事となく涙おちけり
ima yori wa fukeyuku made ni tsuki wa mishi sono koto to naku namida ochikeri From now
Lord Kiyosuke
Right
待つ人のこぬもおもへばつらからずねなばこよひの月をみましや
matsu hito no konu mo omoeba tsurakarazu nenaba koyoi no tsuki o mimashi ya The man I await
Kūnin
Both have deep feeling—it really is impossible to distinguish them.
Round Fourteen
Left (Win)
七夕のわかるる今朝のたもとにや秋の白露おきはじむらん
tanabata no wakaruru kesa no tamoto ni ya aki no shiratsuyu okihajimuran The Weaver Maid
Shun’e
Right
秋へてもはてなき中をみるをりは七夕つめぞうらやまれける
aki hete mo hatenaki naka o miru ori wa tanabatatsume zo urayamarekeru Though the autumns pass,
Kenshō
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'Simply moving and elegant'
