Round Ten

Left

植ゑしその心も置かぬ白菊はあだなる霜に移ひにけり

ueshi sono kokoro mo okanu shiragiku wa adanaru shimo ni utsuroinikeri

I planted them, yet Unconcerned are The white chrysanthemums, For with the faithless frost Have they faded.

Lord Munekuni
43

Right (Both Judges – Win)

菊のはな夜のまに色やかはれると霜を払ひて今朝みつるかな

kiku no hana yo no ma ni iro ya kawareru to shimo o haraite kesa mitsuru kana

The chrysanthemum blooms Within the space of but one night their hue Will change, I thought, so Brushing away the frost Will I gaze on them this morn!

Lord Kanemasa

44

Toshiyori states: the first poem uses ‘unconcerned’, doesn’t it. The second poem’s sequencing is undesirable, yet ‘brushing away the frost’ sounds like that really is the case. It seems superior.

Mototoshi states: one has to ask what on earth a chrysanthemum might be concerned about! As for the Right, ‘Within the space of but one night their hue’ is vague, I think, but ‘brushing away the frost and gazing’ is certainly charming—it is still lodged within my aged heart.