Round Ten

Left (Tie)

まつもみなしらゆふかけてすみよしの月のひかりもかみさびにけり

matsu mo mina shirayū kakete sumiyoshi no tsuki no hikari mo kamisabinikeri

The pine trees, every one, Are hung with sacred streamers— At Sumiyoshi Even the moon’s light Inspires awe.

Hyōenosuke, in service to the Junior Consort
(formerly Handmaid Mikawa, in service at the Nijō Palace)[1]
19

Right

かたそぎのゆきあはぬまよりもる月をさえぬしもとやかみは見るらむ

katasogi no yuki awanu ma yori moru tsuki o saenu shimo to ya kami wa miruramu

The ridge poles Fail to entwine, and from the gaps Drips moonlight— As chill-less frost, I wonder, Does the Deity regard it?

Lord Fujiwara no Naganori
Supernumerary Minor Captain in the Inner Palace Guards, Left Division
Exalted Senior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade[2]
20

The Left’s poem appears to have a pleasant configuration with ‘Even the moon’s light / Inspires awe’. The poem of the Right, furthermore, has a charming-sounding sequence with ‘As chill-less frost, I wonder, / Does the Deity regard it?’ but in composition one usually states that the moon is fair precisely because of its chill. Thus, when one compares it to true frost, can one say that it lacks it? While I do feel that this is somewhat vague, both the poems appear to pleasant configurations, so I make this a tie.

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[1] Nȳogo no ie Hyōenosuke moto nijōin Mikawa no maishi女御家兵衛佐元二条院参河内侍

[2] Shōyon’ige-gyō konoe gonshōjō Fujiwara ason Naganori 正四位下行左近衛権少将藤原朝臣修範