Meet the Poets of Hyakunin Isshu
Emperor Tenji

Meaning

By the rice fields, in a makeshift hut with a loosely woven roof, my sleeves are wet with the night dew.

Commentary

This poem depicts the life of a farmer spending the night in a rough hut to guard the ripening rice from thieves and animals before the harvest. Emperor Tenji himself almost certainly never lived such a life, but the poem became associated with him as an expression of an ideal ruler who shares in the hardships of his people.

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