<span class="empty-title">夏草や兵どもが夢の跡</span>

偖も義臣すぐつて此城にこもり、功名一時の叢となる。国破れて山河あり。城春にして草青みたりと笠打敷て、時のうつるまで泪を落し侍りぬ。

夏草や兵どもが夢の跡

So here it is, I thought: the place where the stalwarts holed up in their fortress and gained an instant of glory - only to end as grassy fields. "The country ravaged, mountains and rivers remain; spring comes to the fortress, covered over in green." Putting my hand beneath me, I sat for a while and found myself in tears.

summer grasses
all that is left to us now
of warrior's dreams.


translated by Steven D. Carter from The Narrow Road to the Deep North 奥の細道