Left
恋妻はあらぬしらべしらべの琴の緒かあふことかたき音のみ絶えせぬ
| koizuma wa aranu shirabe no koto no o ka au koto kataki ne nomi taesenu |
My beloved wife: Is it that untuned are Our zithers’ strings? So there is no harmony, and Only my sobs are ceaseless… |
Lord Suetsune
1095
Right (Win)
松風に通ふと聞きし琴の音も物思ふ時は身にぞしみける
| matsukaze ni kayou to kikishi koto no ne mo mono’omou toki wa mi ni zo shimikeru |
The wind in the pines Resembles, I had heard, A zither’s strains that, too, When sunk in gloomy thought Dye one so deeply… |
Jakuren
1096
The Right state: saying ‘our zithers’ strings?’ (koto no o ka) is unsatisfactory. The Left state: if one is not depressed, would one not be deeply affected?
In judgement: the Left certainly sounds as if something is out of tune! The Right’s poem says that on hearing the wind pass through the pine trees, one would be affected. It sounds by no means distant from the topic. Thus, the Right wins.