No. 658 by Ono no Komachi
No. 658
Ono no KomachiThough I go to you
ceaselessly along dream paths,
the sum of those trysts
is less than a single glimpse
granted in the waking world.
MARGINALIA
I remember one afternoon in Little Tokyo well: it was a day of discernment for me, whether to stay or to go, whether to take a risk in order to be happy or be safe and be discontent. I love that place because at two in the afternoon, there are virtually no people around, and I can just sit, and take photos, and think.
So much wonder in the waking world. And so much beauty in a poem.
—
The poem appears as No. 658 in the Kokin Wakashu, an old anthology of poems from the 12th century.
ABOUT ONO NO KOMACHI
Ono no Komachi was a Japanese poet from the Heian period. Counted among the Rokkasen, a group of six Japanese poets deemed the most notable from the Heian period, as well as the Sanjūrokkasen, a similar group of thirty-six poets from the Asuka, Nara, and Heian periods, she primarily composed in the waka form. Her name remains synonymous with feminine beauty in Japan. (Source)
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ENDNOTES
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