Its burning fire is quenched by the snow;
The snow that falls is melted by the fire.
No words may tell of it, no name know I that is fit for it,
But a wondrous deity it surely is!
That lake we call the Sea of Se
Is contained within it;
That river which men, as they cross it, call the Fuji
Is the water which flows down from it;
Of Yamato, the Land of Sunrise,
It is the peace-giver, it is the god, it is the treasure.
On the peak of Fuji, in the land of Suruga,
I never weary of gazing."
Poverty
The following is exceptional, as giving a glimpse of the condition of the poorer classes. It contains lines in which Buddhist influence is traceable.
"'Tis night: mingled with the storm the rain is falling;
Mingled with the rain the snow is falling.
So cold am I, I know not what to do.
I take up and suck coarse salt [fish?]
And sip a brew of saké dregs;
I cough, I sneeze and sneeze, I cannot help it.
I may stroke my beard, and think proudly to myself,
Who is there like me?
But so cold am I, I pull over me the hempen coverlet,
And huddle upon me all the nuno cloaks I have got.
Yet even this chilly night
Are there not others still poorer,
Whose parents are starving of cold and hunger,
Whose wife and children are begging their food with tears?
(The poet fancies himself addressing such a person.)
'At such a time how do you pass your days?'
(Answer.)
'Heaven and earth are wide, but for me they have become narrow;
The sun and moon are bright, but for me they yield no radiance.
