And we are country folk and therefore live
A humble life here by Ikuta’s sea.
Our lives and work are of the lowliest
And to the field of Ono every year
Without the thought of pleasure do we come.[11]
The footmarks of the many village folk
That go to gather the young shoots of spring
Have left wide tracks across the snowy field.
And tread a path, where else there would be none.
And tread a path, where else there would be none.
The young green shoots that grow on field and marsh
We now must gather. When the snow has gone
They will already have become too old—
Though still the wind blows cold thro’ shady copse
And on the field of Ono lies the snow,
The seven herbs of early spring-time sprout
In Ikuta then let us pluck the shoots,
In Ikuta then let us pluck the shoots.
PRIEST
O good people, will you tell me if toward Ikuta I’m nearing?
MAIDENS
As thou dost know the name of Ikuta
There should have been no need to ask us that!
SPIRIT
Dost thou not know it from the many views
That scattered far and wide portray the place?
First of all, dost thou not know it as the forest of Ikuta?
See, the many clustered tree tops which are true to this its name.[12]