Left (Win).
夏山のこずゑも高く鳴蝉は中なか聲ぞかすかなりける
| natsu yama no kozue mo takaku naru semi wa nakanaka koe zo kasukanarikeru |
In the summer mountains Treetop high The cicadas sing, yet If anything, their songs More distant have become. |
297
Right.
秋近き木木の梢に風越えて下葉にうつる蝉の聲ごゑ
| aki chikaki kigi no kozue ni kaze koete shitaba ni utsuru semi no koegoe |
Autumn draws near, and The trees’ tops are Brushed by breezes; Shifted to the lower leaves are The cicadas’ songs. |
298
The Right state the Left’s poem has nothing problematic about it. The Left wonder whether there is any evidence that cicadas move in response to wind.
Shunzei remarks, ‘The Right’s poem is, indeed, lacking in evidence. However, could it not be that cicadas would feel a sense of danger from the wind and move to a tree’s lower leaves? The Left’s poem is elegant, though, and must win.’