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18. The Minister Toshi-yuki Fujiwara: Fujiwara No Toshi-yuki Ason, read aloud

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A Hundred Verses from Old Japan · 19 of 101

18. The Minister Toshi-yuki Fujiwara: Fujiwara No Toshi-yuki Ason

18

The Minister Toshi-yuki Fujiwara

Fujiwara No Toshi-yuki Ason

Sumi-no-ye no Kishi ni yoru nami Yoru sae ya Yume no kayoi-ji Hito-me yokuramu.

TO-NIGHT on Sumi-no-ye beach The waves alone draw near; And, as we wander by the cliffs, No prying eyes shall peer, No one shall dream we're here.

Toshi-yuki, who lived A.D. 880-907, was an officer of the Imperial Guard, and a member of the great and influential Fujiwara family. This family rose into power in the reign of the Emperor Tenchi, and became almost hereditary ministers-of-state. For a long period the Emperors chose their wives from this family only, and to this day a large number of the Japanese nobility are sprung from the same stock. Sumi-no-ye, or Sumi-yoshi, is in the Province of Settsu, near Kobe.

Note the word yoru used twice in the first instance as a verb, meaning 'to approach' and in the next line meaning 'night'. The illustration shows Toshi-yuki walking on the beach, and evidently waiting for the lady to join him.