Composed when he was on a pilgrimage to worship Kannon at thirty-three places, and saw oil emerging at Tanigumi, in Mino.[1]
よをてらすほとけのしるしありければまだともし火もきえぬなりけり
| yo wo terasu Fotoke no sirusi arikereba mada tomosibi mo kienu narikeri | Shining light upon the world, This Buddha, a sign Does give: As yet, the lanterns Never have gone out! |
Former Archbishop Kakuchū
前大僧正覚忠
[1] This poem was composed at the Kegonji 華厳寺 temple on Mount Tagumi (Tagumisan 谷汲山) in the middle of what is now Gifu 岐阜 prefecture.
One autumn, when I invited Lord Michitsuna, the Middle Captain, to go fishing, he said, ‘You prefer taking life to the Way of the Buddha!’, and I composed:
宇治川の網代の氷魚もこの秋はあみだ佛に寄るとこそ聞け
| uzigaFa no aziro no Fiwo mo kono aki Fa amida Fotoke ni yoru to koso kike |
Upon the River Uji Sweetfish-fry against the nets This autumn To Amida Buddha Are drawn, or so I hear! |
さながらや佛の花におらせまししきみの枝に積る白雪
| sanagara ya hotoke no hana ni orasemashi shikimi no eda ni tsumoru shirayuki |
Just as it is As a blossom for the Buddha Should I pluck it? A branch of anise, Piled high with snow… |
On taking up one’s brush: for the first three days [of the New Year] he kept his mouth shut [and composed no poetry], producing this on the fourth.
大津繪の筆のはじめは何佛
| ōtsu e no fude no hajime wa nani hotoke |
For an Ōtsu icon, The first stroke of the brush should draw Which Buddha? |
(1691)