On an old man picking fresh herbs.
うづゑつきななくさにこそおいにけれとしをかさねてつめるわかなに
| uzue tsuki nanakusa ni koso oinikere toshi o kasanete tsumeru wakana ni | With sacred staff in hand, Even with the Seven Herbs[i] He has grown old! The years have piled up While garnering fresh herbs… |
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[i] The ‘Seven Herbs’ (nanakusa 七草) collected to brew a medicinal broth were: 春の7種の菜、すなわちseri 芹 (‘dropwort’; Oenanthe javanica); nazuna薺 (‘shepherd’s purse’; Capsella bursa-pastoris); gogyō 御形 (‘cudweed’; Gnaphalium affine); hakobe 蘩蔞 (‘chickweed’; Stellaria media); hotoke-no-za 仏座 (‘henbit’; Lamium amplexicaule); suzuna 菘 (turnip; Brassica campestris var. glabra); and suzushiro 蘿蔔 (‘radish’; Raphanus sativus)