8. The Priest Kizen: Kizen Hōshi
8
THE PRIEST KIZEN
KIZEN HŌSHI
Waga iho wa
Miyako no tatsumi
Shika zo sumu
Yo wo Uji yama to
Hito wa iu nari.
Miyako no tatsumi
Shika zo sumu
Yo wo Uji yama to
Hito wa iu nari.
MY home is near the Capital,
My humble cottage bare
Lies south-east on Mount Uji; so
The people all declare
My life's a 'Hill of Care'.
The priest Kizen lived on Mount Uji, which lies south-east of Kyōto, at this time the Capital. The word uji or ushi means 'sorrow'; so he says that, as he lives on Mount Sorrow, his friends say his life is 'a mountain of sorrows '. Notice also the two words yama to in the fourth line, which, if read as one word, form the ancient name of Japan. In the picture we see the priest sitting alone in his little hut, his poverty being shown by the patches on the roof.