The 38th emperor of Japan, known before his accession as Prince Naka no Ōe. In 645 he led the coup that overthrew the Soga clan and launched the Taika Reforms, laying the foundations of a centralized state. After Japan's defeat at Baekgang he moved the capital to Ōtsu and formally took the throne in 668. His poem opens the Hyakunin Isshu, traditionally read as an expression of sympathy for the peasants at harvest.
秋の田の かりほの庵の 苫をあらみ
わが衣手は 露にぬれつつ
Aki no ta no kariho no io no toma o arami / waga koromode wa tsuyu ni nuretsutsu
Keeping watch in a makeshift hut beside the autumn rice field, the thatch is woven so coarsely that my sleeves stay soaked with the night dew.