74. The Minister Toshi-yori Minamoto: Minamoto no Toshi-yori Ason
74
THE MINISTER TOSHI-YORI MINAMOTO
MINAMOTO NO TOSHI-YORI ASON
Ukari keru
Hito wo Hatsuse no
Yama-oroshi
Hageshikare to wa
Inoranu mono wo.
Hito wo Hatsuse no
Yama-oroshi
Hageshikare to wa
Inoranu mono wo.
OH! Kwannon, Patron of this hill,
The maid, for whom I pine,
Is obstinate and wayward, like
The gusts around thy shrine.
What of those prayers of mine?
Toshi-yori is supposed to have been the son of the writer of verse No. 71; he probably lived early in the twelfth century. Hatsuse is a mountain village near Nara, in the Province of Yamato; the temple there is dedicated to Kwannon, Goddess of Mercy, 'who looketh for ever down above the sound of prayer.'