Left (Win).
重ねずと思ふばかりぞ小夜衣匂ひは袖に移りぬるかな
| kasanezu to omou bakari zo sayogoromo nioi wa sode ni utsurinuru kana |
No piled robes, but All I do is long for her: Her night-robe’s Scent upon my sleeves Does dwell…. |
Lord Suetsune
881
Right.
匂ひ來る梢ばかりを情にて主は遠き宿の梅が枝
| nioikuru kozue bakari o nasake nite aruji wa tōki yado no mume ga e |
The scent drifting From the treetops is my only Consolation, for Their master is as far away As his dwelling’s plum blossom branches… |
Nobusada
882
The Right state: the Left’s poem lacks any faults to indicate. The Left state: is the Right’s poem not composed upon the plum blossom of the house next door?
In judgement: for the topic of ‘Nearby Love’, poems composed where the lovers are in the same room are most likely winners. Even so, how close do their dwellings need to be? The Left’s latter section, ‘Her night-robe’s scent upon my sleeves’ (sayogoromo nioi wa sode ni) is certainly elegant. The Right’s poem has ‘Their master is as far away’ (aruji wa tōki). Simply because of this, it is certainly not composed on plum blossom. Still, the Left’s ‘night-robe’ (sayogoromo) seems a little superior to ‘The scent drifting from the treetops is my only consolation’ (nioikuru kozue bakari o nasake nite).