MYS XVI: 3854

痩す痩すも生けらばあらむをはたやはた鰻を捕ると川に流るな

yasu yasu mo
ikeraba aramu wo
pata ya pata
munagi wo toru tö
kapa ni nagaru na
If you keep on thinning
To keep on living,
Here’s what you should do:
Catch eels, but
Don’t fall in the river!

As for the above poems: there was a man, the old Lord Yoshida, whose name was Iwamaro. Apparently he was the child of Kimitaka. This old man, he thinned down to such an extent that his body hurt, and though he ate and drank a great deal, he still looked as if he was starving. So, Yakamochi, Lord Ōtomo, briefly composed these poems as a joke.

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