21. The Priest Sosei: Sosei Hōshi
21
THE PRIEST SOSEI
SOSEI HŌSHI
Ima kon to
Iishi bakari ni
Naga-tsuki no
Ariake no tsuki
Wo machi izuru kana.
Iishi bakari ni
Naga-tsuki no
Ariake no tsuki
Wo machi izuru kana.
THE moon that shone the whole night through
This autumn morn I see,
As here I wait thy well-known step,
For thou didst promise me—
'I'll surely come to thee.'
Sosei is supposed to have been the son of Bishop Henjō, the writer of verse No. 12, born before the latter entered the church, about the year 850. His name as a layman was Hiro-nobu Yoshi-mine, and he became abbot of the Monastery of Riyau-inwin at Isono-kami, in the Province of Yamato.