Page:Anthology of Japanese Literature.pdf/252

248 Muromachi Period

he rested for two or three days on account of an indisposition. Since his lodgings here were only temporary, they were not very spacious, and the soldiers on duty were all able to see him from quite close up. His majestic appearance stirred them profoundly, and he looked at them filled with many thoughts.

aware to wa nare mo miruramu  wa ga tami wo omou kokoro wa ima mo kawarazu

My miserable state Is apparent even to you— Know that my concern For my beloved people Even now remains unchanged.

At the sight of smoke rising from the eaves of the house adjoining his, the Emperor recited the verse, “Brushwood burning in a mountain hut” in a touching way.

yoso ni no mi omoi zo yarishi omoiki ya tami no kamado wo  kakute mimu to wa

I had always thought it Something quite remote from me.— Did ever I think Thus to see, so close at hand, The kitchen fires of my people?

They continued on their journey. The Emperor, noticing that the direction from which they had come was now veiled over in mist, thought, “How great a distance I have come!” Each day that elapsed took him farther from the capital and increased his melancholy. Even the branches of cherry, which he had seen in their first faint bloom, with the passage of the days and the miles had lost their color more and more, and now lay scattered whitely on the twisting roads that led up and down through the mountains. He felt as though he were passing over patches of melting snow.

hana no haru wa mita mimu koto no  kataki ka na onaji michi wo ba ikikaeru tomo

How hard it will be Once again to see the spring And cherry blossoms, Even if perchance I travel Back along this very road.