Original
かすがののけふのみゆきをまつばらのちとせのはるはきみがまにまに
kasugano no kyō no miyuki o matsubara no chitose no haru wa kimi ga manimani On Kasuga Plain [1]
Mitsune
Left
ゆくさきのはるをとほくしまかすればいまはちとせのうたがひもなし
yukusaki no haru o tōkushi makasureba ima wa chitose no utagai mo nashi Future
32
Right (Win)
むれたちてわれをまつてふかすがののみどりふかくやおもひそめけむ
muretachite ware o matsu chō kasugano no midori fukaku ya omoisomekemu Growing crowded together, and
33
[1] A minor variant of this poem occurs in Mitsune-shū (325) with the same headnote as for poem (22), above.
目に近く移ればかはる世の中を行くすゑとほくたのみけるかな
me ni chikaku Within my sight
Murasaki no ue
Created with Soan .
Left (Win).
yukusue no
In the future,
A Servant Girl .
Right.
musuban to
That we would be joined
Ietaka .
Both Left and Right state: there is no separation between man and woman.
In judgement: ‘Young shoot of wild rice at Yodo’ (yodo no wakagomo ) and ‘Ide’s jewelled waters’ (ide no tamamizu ) are both elegant in style, but the Left has pledged a more profound bond. The Right has ‘the slight reflection left’ (mada kage asaki ) and the Left is a poem about a vow which has been made. The Right is just referring to events of the past. Thus, ‘depth’ should win.
'Simply moving and elegant'
