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


p. 85

85

THE PRIEST SHUN-YE

SHUN-YE HŌSHI

  Yomosugara
Mono omou koro wa
  Ake yarade
Neya no hima sae
Tsurena kari keri.

ALL through the never-ending night
  I lie awake and think;
In vain I look to try and see
  The daybreak's feeble blink
  Peep through the shutter's chink.

This priest was the son of the author of verse No. 74. He describes in this poem a sleepless night, when he looks in vain to catch the first glimpse of daybreak through the joints of the sliding screens, that form the walls of a Japanese house. But in the picture, as will be noticed, one of the sliding screens is removed, in order to show the priest within.


Next: 86. The Priest Saigyō: Saigyō Hōshi