A Hundred Verses from Old Japan · 40 of 101

39. The Privy Councillor Hitoshi: Sangi Hitoshi

39

The Privy Councillor Hitoshi

Sangi Hitoshi

Asajū no Ono no shinowara Shinoburedo Amarite nado ka Hito no koishiki.

’TIS easier to hide the reeds Upon the moor that grow, Than try to hide the ardent love That sets my cheeks aglow For somebody I know.

Little is known of this poet, except that he lived some time in the tenth century.

Note the word shinowara, meaning 'a bamboo moor', contrasted with shinohuredo in the next line, which means 'though I might manage to conceal'.

The picture shows Hitoshi on the wild moor, with the reeds growing all around him.