A court poet of the late seventh century who served Empress Jitō and Emperor Monmu. Around ninety of his long and short poems survive in the Man'yōshū, including elegies for imperial princes and poems composed on royal excursions. His grand structures and masterful use of pillow-words and parallelism earned him the title of 'saint of poetry' in later ages. Little is known of his life; tradition holds that he died in Iwami province.
あしびきの 山鳥の尾の しだり尾の
ながながし夜を ひとりかも寝む
Ashibiki no yamadori no o no shidari o no / naganagashi yo o hitori kamo nen
This autumn night, as long as the drooping tail of the mountain pheasant — must I sleep it through alone and lonely?
東の 野にかぎろひの 立つ見えて
かへり見すれば 月かたぶきぬ
Out on the eastern fields, the first light of dawn rises trembling — / and when I look back, the moon is sinking low.