The poetry of Japan has from the beginnings of time

when Heaven and Earth were created, been the language

of the nation known as the Land of Reed Plains,

in a time when even the nature of human activities is unknown.

It is said that poetry is the legacy of Princess Inada

and that it spread from the village of Suga.

From that time henceforth, the practice of poetry

has flourished and continues unabated to this day as

the handmaiden of the heart, helping it express itself

in terms of the depth of worldly phenomena.

Poetry is a Way which shall govern the state and

pacify the people.

(Translation by KLR)