At around this time, there was a disturbance and the man who was Assistant Captain in the Headquarters of the Middle Palace Guards was relieved of his position and appointed Assistant Governor of Tajima. She wrote to him, ‘When you were nearby, I finished with you without a thought, but it is sad that you have been sent so far away.’ In reply:
かけて言へば涙の河の水脈はやみ心づからやまたは流れむ
| kakete iFeba namida no kaFa no miwo hayami kokorodukara ya mata Fa nagaremu |
To put it into words: The river of tears’ Current is so swift, It seems my own desire To now be swept along. |