On the last day of the Third Month, when His Majesty’s gentlemen had been summoned before Him and commanded to compose on the spirit of the end of Spring, His Majesty composed the following.
おしむとてこよひかきをく言の葉やあやなく春のかたみなるべき
| osimu tote koyoFi kakiwoku koto no Fa ya ayanaku Faru no katami narubeki |
Feeling regret, Tonight I write down These lines, So empty; of Spring Might they serve as a reminder…? |
The New Retired Emperor [Sutoku (1119 – 1164; r. 1123 – 1141)]