(Shiki)
(Sept. 19th of 1951 (Showa 26), The 50th anniversary of Shiki's birth)This Tanka is the 7th Tanka among the nine Tanka of "Longing for my country home" (presented in 1898 (Meiji 31) ), appeared in Shiki's poetry, "Takeno-Sato-Uta ; The poem in Bamboo Village".
This Tanka was presented on the newspaper, "Nippon" of Aug. 9th of "1898 (Meiji 31).
In 1951 (Showa 26), the original of "Takeno -Sato -Uta" had been not found and characters on this monument was carved by gathering one by one of Shiki's handwriting characters.
This Tanka is the poem longing for his country home in his sick bed and implies ;
"If I were a white egret, I wish return fly to cure my legs."
In 1895 (Meiji 28), on his way to Tokyo from Gudabutsuan Hermitage in Matsuyama on Oct. 22nd, he began to feel a pain in his left hipbone because of being affected by the tubercle bacillus. After that, he had been in his sick bed and lame in his legs until his death.
Legend in Dogo Spa has it that a white egret injured his legs and cured while he soaked his legs into hot water gushed out from the gap among rocks, in ancient times.
The expression of "If I were a while egret" in this Tanka is connection to this legend.
