Sumiyoshi-sha uta’awase kaō ni-nen 64

Round Fourteen

Left (Win)

みやゐしていくよへぬらむすみよしのまつふくかぜもかみさびにけり

miya’ishite
iku yo henuramu
sumiyoshi no
matsu fuku kaze mo
kamisabinikeri
Since He manifested here
How many ages might have passed?
At Sumiyoshi
The wind gusting through the pines, too,
Is touched with divinity…

Tsunemasa
127

Right

よのなかをいとふこころはさきだちていつまでとまるうきみなるらむ

yo no naka o
itou kokoro wa
sakidachite
itsu made tomaru
ukimi naruramu
This mundane world
My heart does despise and
Would depart, but
How long will I remain,
Suffering as I am?

Nakatsuna
128

Both Left and Right are expressions of grievance, but the Left is merely concerned with ‘Since He manifested here / How many ages might have passed?’, while the Right simply wonders ‘How long will I remain’ while despising the mundane world. I cannot really say that either is superior in the emotions they express, yet due to its reference to the deity, I should say that the Left wins.

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