Round Seven

Left

かすがやまちえにさかゆるさかきばはよろづよまでのきみがためか

kasugayama chie ni sakayuru sakakiba wa yorozuyo made no kimi ga tame ka

Upon Kasuga Mountain A thousand branches grow, Leafy, on the sacred tree— Until ten thousand ages pass Will they ward my Lord!

Lady Kazusa
69

Right

君がよはいふかぎりなしみよしののこがねがみねにみよをまつまで

kimi ga yo wa iu kagiri nashi miyoshino no kogane ga mine ni miyo o matsu made

My Lord’s reign— Words cannot describe: ‘til fair Yoshino’s Golden peak’s Age one must await!

Lady Shikibu
70

The poem of the Left seems poetic to an extraordinarily outlandish degree! The poem of the Right’s ‘‘til fair Yoshino’s / Golden peak’s / Age one must await!’ has a sufficient conception of felicitation. Thus, these tie.

That the Left is addressed to Mount Kasuga is highly admirable. Is the Right’s ‘golden peak’ a reference to Mount Mitake? It’s very difficult to say anything profound here. Arbitrarily, I would make this a tie—the quality of the poems makes that seem right.