Round Eleven

Left (Tie)

すみよしのかみさびにけるたまがきをみがくは月のひかりなりけり

sumiyoshi no kamisabinikeru tamagaki o migaku wa tsuki no hikari narikeri

Sumiyoshi’s Awesome Begemmed fences are Polished by the moon’s Light.

Hyōenokami, in service to the Junior Consort[1]
21

Right

くまもなくさえゆく月にみがかれてひかりをそふるあけのたまがき

kuma mo naku saeyuku tsuki ni migakurete hikari o souru ake no tamagaki

Not a cloud mars The chill moon Polishing With trailing light The vermillion begemmed fences.

Lord Minamoto no Michichika,
Supernumerary Minor Captain in the Inner Palace Guards, Right Division,
Exalted Senior Fourth Rank, Upper Grade[2]
22

Both Left and Right take up the image of the moon’s light polishing the begemmed fences, and the Right’s final section expresses emotions which are frequently heard, while the Left, furthermore, is repetitive [it concludes two lines with the ending –keru/keri] and thus I make the round a tie.

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[1] Nyōgo no ie Hyōenokami女御家兵衛督

[2] Shōyon’ige-gyō ukonoe gonshōjō Minamoto ason Michichika 正四位下行右近衛権少将源朝臣通親