Page:A History of Japanese Literature (Aston).djvu/53

Rh As the welcome rain from heaven, All the nation did await thee. Thou hast chosen—why we know not— By the hill of lone Mayumi There to raise the massy pillars, There to build a lofty palace, But at morn thy voice is heard not; Months and days have passed in silence, Till thy servants, sad and weary, Have departed, none knows whither."

The next specimen is also by Hitomaro. It is an elegy on a lady of the court.

The following illustrates the Japanese poet's use of parallelism. It is dated A.D. 744.

By the Palace of Futagi, Where our great king And divine lord Holds high rule,