Hyakunin Isshu: Meet the Poets
Minister of the Right of Kamakura

Meaning

I wish the world could stay just as it is forever. How moving it is to watch the small fishing boats being towed along the shore.

Commentary

"Tsuna-de" (tow rope) carries undertones of "tsuna" (bond) and "te" (hand) — human ties. The small boat being gently pulled along the shore evokes fragility and sweetness. The poem wishes not for change or improvement, but simply for the present moment — and by extension, peace itself — to last.

Minamoto no Sanetomo, third shogun of Kamakura, was assassinated at age twenty-seven by his own nephew at Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine. He was also a gifted poet who studied under Fujiwara no Teika. His poetry longs for peace in an era of violence, giving this quiet poem an especially poignant resonance.

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