A Hundred Verses from Old Japan · 79 of 101

78. Kanemasa Minamoto: Minamoto no Kanemasa

78

Kanemasa Minamoto

Minamoto No Kanemasa

Awaji shima Kayou chidori no Naku koe ni Iku yo nezamenu Suma no seki-mori.

BETWEEN Awaji and the shore The birds scream in their flight Full oft they've made the Suma Guard Toss through a sleepless night, Until the morning light.

The writer was the son of Kanesuke, and died about the year 1112. Chidori are snipe or plovers, but here are apparently meant for seagulls. Awaji is a large island in the Inland Sea, near Kobe, and Suma is a point on the mainland in the Province of Settsu, immediately opposite.