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mid-Heian period · dates unknown (11th c.)Priest Ryōzen

良暹法師(りょうぜんほうし)

A mid-Heian monk-poet of obscure origins who served as administrator of the Gion shrine as a priest of Mount Hiei and later lived in seclusion at Ōhara north of the capital, ending his days at Urin-in. He took part in poetry contests of the 1030s and 1050s and associated with Nōin and Sagami. About thirty of his poems appear in imperial anthologies. His Hyakunin Isshu poem, thought to date from his years at Ōhara, describes stepping out of his hut, unable to bear the loneliness, only to find the same autumn dusk everywhere he looks.

Poems by Priest Ryōzen

1 poem

Hyakunin Isshu No. 70 Goshūi Wakashū

さびしさに 宿を立ち出でて ながむれば
いづこも同じ 秋の夕暮れ
Sabishisa ni yado o tachiidete nagamureba / izuko mo onaji aki no yūgure

Unable to bear the loneliness, I stepped out of my hut and looked around — everywhere was wrapped in the same loneliness: the autumn dusk.

Hyakunin IsshuGoshūi WakashūAutumnLonelinessA hermit's hut in a mountain village (Ōhara)

♪ Listen: “Sabishisa ni”

Songs by this poet

Songs · 1