Hyakunin Isshu: Meet the Poets
Fujiwara no Mototoshi

Meaning

You promised me, and I staked my life on it like the morning dew on the wormwood. But another autumn is passing, alas.

Commentary

"Sasemo-ga tsuyu" (dew of the sasemogusa/mugwort) alludes to a poem by Kiyohara no Motosuke: "Trust in me as the dew on mugwort." Here the dew represents a powerful person's promise of patronage. The speaker had hoped that promise would secure his son a temple appointment — but it was not kept.

Fujiwara no Mototoshi was a conservative and learned poet who championed the classical style against the innovations championed by Minamoto no Toshiyori. He reportedly composed this poem out of grief and frustration after Fujiwara no Tadamichi failed to fulfill a promise regarding his son's Buddhist ecclesiastical appointment.

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