Emperor Akihito recounted his visit to areas devastated by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in a poem recited at the annual New Year Poetry Reading Ceremony at the Imperial Palace on Thursday.
This year's theme for "waka" (Japanese poems) at the reading was "kishi" (shore). The Emperor describes the view from a helicopter of areas devastated by the tsunami during his May visit to Iwate Prefecture to console those affected by the quake-triggered disaster.
His poem is translated by the Imperial Household Agency as:
What was it like then
When the tsunami came to shore
I look down and wonder
Below me spreads the blue sea
Quiet and perfectly still.
(Japan Times)
His poem is translated by the Imperial Household Agency as:
What was it like then
When the tsunami came to shore
I look down and wonder
Below me spreads the blue sea
Quiet and perfectly still.
(Japan Times)