Round Twenty-One

Left (Tie)

かずならぬみこそおもへばうれしけれうきにつけてぞよをもいとはむ

kazu naranu mi koso omoeba ureshikere uki ni tsukete zo yo o mo itowamu

Not even numbered among folk Am I, thinking that Fills me with joy, but All the cruelties of this world Make me wish to leave it.

Asamune
141

Right

ながらへばかくてのみやははてむとてすぎにしかたはなぐさみもしき

nagaraeba kakute nomi ya wa hatemu tote suginishi kata wa nagusami mo shiki

Should I live on, then Being simply as I am Would I reach my end, I wonder? In days gone by I had some hope of consolation…

Kanetsuna
142

The sequencing of the Left’s ‘Am I, thinking that’ appears elegant. The Right, starting with ‘Would I reach my end, I wonder?’ sounds overly forceful, yet the conception of saying ‘in days gone by’ is still pleasant. Thus, once again, I make this a tie.