Even if, my lord,
the jeweled bed of old,
though you once lay there,
now that it has come to this,
what use could it be?
- Meaning
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Even if, my lord, you once sat upon the jeweled throne, now that you have come to this state, what use could it be? Set aside such attachments to this world and find your peace in awakening.
- Commentary
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Volume One, Shiramine.
After his death, when Emperor Sutoku behaved like a demon king, Saigyō composed this poem, wishing that he would return to a mind of compassion.
For the dead, the glories of this world and the seat of power are of no use at all; they are things without any bond to them. Saigyō, of course, composed the poem with this meaning. Yet the expression of the poem itself can also be taken in a completely different way, as follows:
"Even if, my lord, you once occupied the highest jeweled throne on earth, now that you have gained such dreadful power, it is nothing at all."
- Author
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Ueda Akinari
- Source
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Ugetsu Monogatari
- Other
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Like a boat borne on
waves of Matsuyama’s sea,
washed in and then left—
soon it comes to emptiness.
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Like a plover on
waves of Matsuyama’s shore,
my traces go on
to the capital, yet I
cry with sound alone.
-
The sorrow of my life
no one will tell for me;
O bird of evening call
at Ōsaka Pass,
cry that autumn, too, has waned.
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Even so, my heart,
thinking he would return,
was taken in by it—
how have I lived in this world
till today, this life of mine?