furusato no kasuga no nobe no kusa mo ki mo haru ni futatabi au kotoshi kana
At the ancient capital Upon Kasuga’s plain, Grasses and trees, both, Springtime have twice Met this year! [1]
Mitsune 34
Left (Win)
はるながらまたはるにあふかすがのにおひぬくさきはねたくやあるらん
haru nagara mata haru ni au kasugano ni oinu kusaki wa netaku ya aruran
‘Tis spring, but That springtime once more has come To Kasuga Plain, Won’t the grasses and trees growing there Be envied, indeed?
35
Right
ゆきかへるみちのやどりかかすがののくさきにはなのたびかさぬらむ
yukikaeru michi no yadori ka kasugano no kusaki ni hana no tabikasanuramu
Is it that arriving and departing, The lodging on spring’s path lies On Kasuga Plain, so On the grasses and trees, blossom Appears time and time again?
36
[1] This poem occurs in Mitsune-shū (322) with the same headnote as for poem (22), above. It was also included in Shinsenzaishū (X: 980), with the headnote, ‘Composed in place of the Governor of Yamato in Engi 21, on the day when the Kyōgoku Lady of the Bedchamber visited the shrine at Kasuga.’
oshimikane akanu nagori no kurushiki ni iru made wa miji aki no yo no tsuki
Unbearable regret, Unending is a memento Most painful— I would not watch until it sets: The moon this autumn night.
Kenshō 69
Right
月影のかたぶくかたにさしいればやどのうちにも霜ぞ置きける
tsukigage no katabuku kata ni sashi’ireba yado no uchi ni mo shimo zo okikeru
The moonlight as It descends Shines in, so Within my lodging Frost, indeed, has fallen.
Lord Yorisuke 70
The Left, saying that the setting of the moon is a painful memento, and thus not watching it until the end seems excessively topsy-turvy. The Right, saying that the setting moon enters one’s lodging, is both pretentious and misses the point—surely it depends on the construction of the house! This shows know knowledge of how diction should be used, so the Left has to win.
mitekaeru kokoro akaneba sakurabana sakeru atari ni yado ya karamashi
Seeing you and returning home Leaves my heart unsated, O, cherry blossom! In the place where you do bloom is Where I would borrow lodging…
Okikaze 21
Right
しののめにおきてみつればさくらばなまだよをこめてちりにけるかな
shinonome ni okite mitsureba sakurabana mada yo o komete chirinikeru kana
At the edge of dawn, When I arise to gaze upon The cherry blossoms Within the night’s span Have they scattered!
Yorimoto 22
The Right’s poem was just as His Majesty said: ‘It expresses affection for the blossom through gazing and gazing upon them.’ When it was suggested to him that the work produced by Lord Sadakata and Lord Noboru conveyed the same overall impression, he took his time to consider the matter, then said, ‘In that case,’ and made the round a tie.
