Left (Win).
鳴蝉の羽に置く露に秋かけて木陰涼しき夕暮の聲
| naru semi no ha ni oku tsuyu ni aki kakete kokage suzushiki yūkure no koe |
Upon the singing cicadas’ Wings fall dewdrops, Heralding autumn; Cool, and shaded by the trees Are their evening songs… |
299
Right.
夏深き杜の梢にかねてより秋をかなしむ蝉の聲かな
| natsu fukaki mori no kozue ni kanete yori aki o kanashimu semi no koe kana |
In the depths of summer From the forest treetops, Long before Autumn, in sadness Do the cicadas sing. |
300
Neither Left nor Right can find fault with the other’s poem this round.
Shunzei states, ‘It is rather difficult to know a cicada’s mind – as to whether or not it is mourning the coming of autumn long before it arrives. The Left’s “Wings fall dewdrops, heralding autumn” (ha ni oku tsuyu ni aki kakete), is particularly delicate in expression and charming. It must win.’