Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
わが庵は
Kisen Hōshi · 喜撰法師
わが庵は
都のたつみ
しかぞ住む
世をうぢ山と
人はいふなり
Historical kana
わがいほは
みやこのたつみ
しかぞすむ
よをうぢやまと
ひとはいふなり
Original English translation
My hut lies southeast of the capital, where I live like this; people call it Uji, a mountain refuge from this weary world.
History and context
Kisen is one of the poets later called the Six Poetic Immortals, though his biography is obscure. Uji becomes both a geographical location and a comment on withdrawal from social life.
Imagery and wordplay
Uji echoes ushi, “weary” or “painful”. The wordplay complicates the assumption that seclusion means unhappiness.
Kokinshū · 古今集雑下983
Japanese text and historical kana follow the linked Wikisource transcription. Classical poems can have variant spellings and wording in different anthologies. The source anthology reference identifies the version represented in this collection, not necessarily its earliest surviving text. English prose translations and reading notes are original interpretations; some wordplay permits more than one reading.