47. The Priest Ye-kei: Ye-kei Hōshi
47
THE PRIEST YE-KEI
YE-KEI HŌSHI
Yaemugura
Shigereru yado no
Sabishiki ni
Hito koso miene
Aki wa ki ni keri.
Shigereru yado no
Sabishiki ni
Hito koso miene
Aki wa ki ni keri.
MY little temple stands alone,
No other hut is near;
No one will pass to stop and praise
Its vine-grown roof, I fear,
Now that the autumn's here.
The Priest Ye-kei lived about the end of the tenth century, but nothing is known about him. In the picture he is shown outside his humble little temple with its patched roof and the vine growing up the wall.