Love X: 30

Left
年深き入江の秋の月見ても別惜しまぬ人やかなしき

toshi fukaki
irie no aki no
tsuki mitemo
wakare oshimanu
hito ya kanashiki
Late on in the year
Above the bay one evening,
Glimpsing the moon:
That he cares not at their parting –
Is that a source of sadness?

A Servant Girl
1199

Right (Win)
ともすれば別を知らぬ浪の上にかきなす音をも人は問けり

tomo sureba
wakare o shiranu
nami no ue ni
kakinasu ne o mo
hito wa toikeri
As ever,
In ignorance of our parting,
Upon the waves
The strains I pluck
Bring folk to ask me why…

Ietaka
1200

Both Gentlemen state: the poems are based on ‘The Song of the Lute’ and have no faults to mention.

In judgement: both the Left and the Right are based on ‘The Song of the Lute’ and the Left, beginning with ‘late on in the year’ (toshi fukaki) is pleasant, but ‘that he cares not at their parting’ (wakare oshimanu) and what follows seems rather insufficient, in addition to simply seeming to recall Xunyang River and lack a conception of the poet’s own love. The Right has ‘in ignorance of our parting’ (wakare o shiranu), while ‘bring folk to ask me why’ (hito wa toikeri) also has a slight conception that the lady has not asked why either. Thus, the Right should win.

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