The Day of the Rat
いかにして野中の松のふりぬらんむかしの人はひかずや有りけん
| ika ni shite nonaka no matsu no furinuran mukashi no hito wa hikazu ya ariken | Why is it that Upon the plain a pine tree Has grown so old? Did folk long ago Fail to pull it up, I wonder? |
Composed at the Kameyama Palace in the Eighth Month, Kenji 2 [1276], when the first topic announced was ‘the shape of a pine tree floating in a pond’.
万代とかめのを山の松かげをうつしてすめるやどの池水
| yorozuyo to kame no oyama no matsukage o utsushite sumeru yado no ikemizu | For ten thousand generations On the mount of Kame Is the pine tree’s shape, Reflected, so clear in This dwelling’s pond waters. |
The Retired Emperor [Kameyama]