Fujiwara No Oki-kaze
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A Hundred Verses from Old Japan (The Hyakunin-isshu), tr. by William N. Porter, [1909], at sacred-texts.com
p. 34
34
OKI-KAZE FUJIWARA
FUJIWARA NO OKI-KAZE
Shiru hito nisemu
Takasago no
Matsu mo mukashi no
Tomo nara-naku ni.
GONE are my old familiar friends,
The men I used to know;
Yet still on Takasago beach
The same old pine trees-grow,
That I knew long ago.
Oki-kaze, the son of Michinari, was an official in the Province of Sagami in the year 911; the date of his death is unknown, but he is mentioned as being alive as late as the year 914. Takasago, which is mentioned again in verse No. 73, is a seaside place in the Province of Harima, famous for its pine trees; the pine tree is one of the recognized emblems of long life in Japan, because it is believed that after a thousand years its sap turns to amber.
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