Round Eight

Left (Both Judges – Tie)

神無月三室の山の紅葉ばも色に出でぬべく降るしぐれかな

kaminazuki mimuro no yama no momijaba mo iro ni idenubeku furu shigure kana

In the Godless Month On Mount Mimuro The autumn leaves Show no hues at all, despite The falling showers!

Lord Morikata
15

Right

かみな月時雨れてわたるたびごとに生田の杜をおもひこそやれ

kaminazuki shigurete wataru tabi goto ni ikuta no mori o omoi koso yare

In the Godless Month Showers pass by and Every time The sacred grove at Ikuta I do recall.

Lord Tadataka
16

Toshiyori states: ‘Godless Month’ is the name given to a specific month of the year. It’s somewhat unclear why one would use ‘Godless Month’ in conjunction with ‘Mount Mimuro’ – is there a prior poem to evidence this? It’s quite normal for lines which would normally have five syllables to be written with six, or those with seven to have eight, and this can sound fine in some cases. Here, though, it does sound obviously excessive and I do wonder about that. The second poem is plainly based on an earlier work, and is not at all clear, but as it has precedent, these two are about the same.

Mototoshi states: neither of these poems appears bad, so I say they tie.