Fujiwara no Teika

“In this art of poetry, those who speak ill of Teika should be denied the protection of the gods and Buddhas and condemned to the punishments of hell.”

“From the beginningI knew meeting could onlyEnd in parting, yetI ignored the coming dawnAnd I gave myself to you.”

“On this spring nightthe floating bridge of my dreamshas broken away:and lifting off a far peak—a cloud-bank in empty sky.”

“和歌に師匠なし。たゞ旧き歌をもつて師となす。心を古風に染め、詞を先達に習はば、誰人かこれを詠ぜざらんや。”