Rice seedling Planters[i]

Left

てもたゆくむろのはやなへとりもあへずおのがおのがもいそぐめるかな

te mo tayuku muro no hanae tori mo aezu ono ga ono ga mo isogumeru kana

With gentle hands The young seedlings in the root-house Swiftly taking Each and every one Hurries along!

5

Right

なはしろとはるみしものをいつのまにたごおりたちてさなへとるらん

nawashiro to haru mishi mono o itsu no ma ni tago oritachite sanae toruran

The seed-shoots that I saw in springtime have, In but a moment, by The lads standing in the paddies, Taken for seedlings.

6

While it lacks a depth of conception of fallow paddies resembling the marshy mud between the reeds, surveying the scene in line with this time of year, it is certainly the case that men planting rice-seedlings appear—this is the superficial content of the Left’s poem, but its diction is somewhat stiff. The Right seem superior for its balance between the initial and latter section of the poem, it’s bright overall impression and its configuration implying the swift flow of water around the seedlings.

tori mo aezu kokorogokoro ni isogedomo ama wa so shiranu muro no hayanae

Swiftly over Both conceptions Have I hurried, yet As a fisherman, am ignorant of Young seedlings in the root-house!

Judge 3

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[i] Torinaehito 取苗人