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


p. 39

39

THE PRIVY COUNCILLOR HITOSHI

SANGI HITOSHI

  Asajū no
Ono no shinowara
  Shinoburedo
Amarite nado ka
Hito no koishiki.

’TIS easier to hide the reeds
  Upon the moor that grow,
Than try to hide the ardent love
  That sets my cheeks aglow
  For somebody I know.

Little is known of this poet, except that he lived some time in the tenth century.

Note the word shinowara, meaning 'a bamboo moor', contrasted with shinohuredo in the next line, which means 'though I might manage to conceal'.

The picture shows Hitoshi on the wild moor, with the reeds growing all around him.


Next: 40. Kanemori Taira: Taira no Kanemori