When they arrived at the banks of the Sumida River, between the provinces of Musashi and Shimotsūsa, they thought fondly of the capital and, dismounting for a while on the river bank, they thought sadly about how far they had come. While they were gazing into space, the ferryman said, “Get on the boat quickly! The sun is going down.” So, they boarded and were about to set off, each one thinking miserably about someone he had left in the capital, when they saw a white bird with a red bill and legs splashing about in the river shallows. As it was a bird never seen in the capital, none of them could say what it was, so they asked the ferryman, and he replied that it was a miyakodori (capital bird); hearing this, Narihira composed the following:
名にしおはばいざ事とはむ宮こどりわが思ふ人はありやなしやと
na ni si oFaba iza koto toFamu miyakodori wa ga omoFu Fito Fa ari ya nasi ya to |
If your name fits you, There’s something I would ask, O, Capital bird: Is the lady in my thoughts Still quite safe? |
Ariwara no Narihira
有原業平