Journey to the Eastern Provinces -
Since I have a wife
familiar to me as the hem
of a well-worn robe,
I think sadly of how far
I have traveled on this journey.
When he composed this, all of them shed tears on their dried rice until it swelled with the moisture.
Moving on, they came to the province of Suruga. When they arrived at Mount Utsu, they were troubled to find that the road they planned to take was very dark and narrow, with dense growth of creepers and maples. As they were thinking what unexpected and difficult experiences they were having, they met with a pilgrim. " What are you doing on such a road as this? " he asked them, and the man recognized him as someone he knew. He wrote a letter and asked the pilgrim to take it to the lady he had left in the capital.
Near Mount Utsu
in Suruga
I can meet you
neither in reality
nor in my dreams.
When they came to Mount Fuji, they saw that it was very white with falling snow even on the last day of the Fifth Month.
The peak of Mount Fuji
is oblivious to time.
What season does it take this to be
that the falling snow
should dapple it like a fawn?
If we compare this mountain with those here in the capital, it is twenty times the height of Mount Hiei, and its shape is like a cone of sand used for making salt.
Continuing on as before, they came to a very large river between Musashi and Shimotsufusa provinces. It is called the Sumida River. As they stood in a group on the edge of the river and thought of home, lamenting together how very far they had come, the ferryman said, " Hurry up and get in the boat. It's getting dark. " About to board the boat and cross the river, they all felt forlorn, for there was not one of them who did not have someone he loved in the capital. Just then they saw a white bird with a red bill and legs, about the size of a snipe, cavorting in the water and eating fish. Since this is not a bird one sees in the capital, none of them recognized it. When they asked the ferryman what it was, he said, " Why, that's a capital bird. " Hearing this, the man composed a poem:
If you are true to your name
then I shall ask:
O capital bird,
is the one I love
alive or dead? Everyone in the boat burst into tears.
familiar to me as the hem
of a well-worn robe,
I think sadly of how far
I have traveled on this journey.
When he composed this, all of them shed tears on their dried rice until it swelled with the moisture.
Moving on, they came to the province of Suruga. When they arrived at Mount Utsu, they were troubled to find that the road they planned to take was very dark and narrow, with dense growth of creepers and maples. As they were thinking what unexpected and difficult experiences they were having, they met with a pilgrim. " What are you doing on such a road as this? " he asked them, and the man recognized him as someone he knew. He wrote a letter and asked the pilgrim to take it to the lady he had left in the capital.
Near Mount Utsu
in Suruga
I can meet you
neither in reality
nor in my dreams.
When they came to Mount Fuji, they saw that it was very white with falling snow even on the last day of the Fifth Month.
The peak of Mount Fuji
is oblivious to time.
What season does it take this to be
that the falling snow
should dapple it like a fawn?
If we compare this mountain with those here in the capital, it is twenty times the height of Mount Hiei, and its shape is like a cone of sand used for making salt.
Continuing on as before, they came to a very large river between Musashi and Shimotsufusa provinces. It is called the Sumida River. As they stood in a group on the edge of the river and thought of home, lamenting together how very far they had come, the ferryman said, " Hurry up and get in the boat. It's getting dark. " About to board the boat and cross the river, they all felt forlorn, for there was not one of them who did not have someone he loved in the capital. Just then they saw a white bird with a red bill and legs, about the size of a snipe, cavorting in the water and eating fish. Since this is not a bird one sees in the capital, none of them recognized it. When they asked the ferryman what it was, he said, " Why, that's a capital bird. " Hearing this, the man composed a poem:
If you are true to your name
then I shall ask:
O capital bird,
is the one I love
alive or dead? Everyone in the boat burst into tears.
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