Composed when the gentlemen in the Crown Prince’s service were presented with wine, on the occasion of Tadafusa being appointed Secretary of an embassy to China, during the reign of the Kanpyō emperor.
なよ竹のよながきうへにはつしものおきゐて物を思ふころかな
nayotake no yo nagaki uFe ni Fatusimo no oki’wite mono wo omoFu koro kana
Green bamboo with Knots as far apart as the night is long While the first frost Settles on my active Thoughts these days!
naniwagata mijikaki ashi no fushi no ma mo awade kono yo o sugushiteyo to ya
In the Naniwa tidelands, Brief, indeed, are the reeds’ Span between the knots upon their stalks, but Such times in this world without meeting you— Are you really telling me to just go on like that?
