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A Hundred Verses from Old Japan (The Hyakunin-isshu), tr. by William N. Porter, [1909], at sacred-texts.com


p. 84

84

THE MINISTER KIYO-SUKE FUJIWARA

FUJIWARA NO KIYO-SUKE ASON

  Nagaraeba
Mata konogoro ya
  Shinobaremu
Ushi to mishi yo zo
Ima wa koishiki.

TIME was when I despised my youth,
  As boyhood only can;
What would I give for boyhood now,
  When finishing life's span
  An old decrepid man!

Kiyo-suke was the son of the writer of verse No. 79, and lived in the latter part of the twelfth century.


Next: 85. The Priest Shun-ye: Shun-ye Hōshi