Though I now return
To my home, the Capital,
Sad it is to think
One for whom I mourn in vain
Never will return again.
He composed the following also upon the same occasion:
Could I e'er forget
What is past, I still should grieve
If she were not here;
Seeking for her, I should say,
'Where's my little girl today?'
Such were his words. At a place named Cape Kago the Governor's brother,8 some strangers and many others hurried down to the shore with sake and other good things to bid a sad farewell; and all the people from Government House, who had come here, spoke softly in the kindness of their hearts. To express their grief at parting, these good people clustered together upon the sea-shore and dragged out the following verse,—which was as heavy as a net full of fishes!
Like a flock of ducks9 Here among the reeds are we; Deeply we regret Thy departure, and we would Keep thee with us, if we could.
On this the traveler with the greatest appreciation replied:
Sounding with my pole
Bottom is there none; and thus
Like the Sea-God's realm,
Bottomless my loving heart,
When I think we now must part.
The steersman,10 who had himself been freely eating and drinking sake while all this was going on, now remorselessly said they must get away at once; for the tide was full, and he feared the wind might blow and they would have a rough tossing in the ship. Just about this time several others wrote appropriate verses; they were Chinese poems and I have no doubt they were worthy of the occasion; a certain personage' also sang a song of the East,11—though he was still in the Land of the West. While these verses were being sung, we are told, even the dust in the cabin began to blow about and the clouds to scud across the sky! That evening a stop was made at Urato, to which spot Fujiwara no Tokisané and Tachibana no Suehira followed.12
4 FEB. 28th day.—They set out rowing from Urato and made for Ōminato, where Yamaguchi no Chiminé, the son of a former Governor, came with sake and good things to eat, which he put aboard the boat. There will be plenty to eat and drink during the voyage!
5 FEB. 29th day.—They remained at Ōminato, and the Doctor paid a visit, in order to present some spiced sake and byakusan appropriate to the season, as well as ordinary saké;13 this he did from pure kindness of heart.
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