At a time when the Lady Jōtōmon’in [Fujiwara no Shōshi] was Empress, on the day His Majesty took Holy Orders when suffering from an unprecedented illness, he sent this to her:
秋風のつゆのやどりに君をゝきてちりをいでぬることぞかなしき
| aki kaze no tsuyu no yadori ni kimi o okite chiri o idenuru koto zo kanashiki |
With the autumn wind Upon this house of dew wherein I leave you; To have set forth into dust Is a grief, indeed… |
Retired Emperor Ichijō (986-1011; r. 980-1011)