Once, he was travelling to the Eastlands with one or two friends. On reaching a place called Yatsuhashi in the province of Mikawa, they saw there were irises (kakitsubata) blooming particularly beautifully by the river. Dismounting, and resting in the shade of a tree, he composed this poem, expressing the feelings of someone homesick, with the correct syllable of kakitsubata at the beginning of each line.
唐衣きつつなれにしつましあればはるばるきぬるたびをしぞ思ふ
| karakoromo kitutu narenisi tuma si areba Farubaru kinuru tabi wo si zo omoFu |
A Chinese robe I have worn so often I know it As I do my wife; Having come so far This journey rests heavy on my thoughts. |
Ariwara no Narihira
有原業平