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IF in this troubled world of ours
I still must linger on,
My only friend shall be the moon,
Which on my sadness shone,
When other friends were gone.
The Emperor Sanjō, who reigned A.D. 1012-1015) was the son of the Emperor Reisei; he fell into ill health, his palace was burnt down twice, and he was forced to abdicate by Michinaga Fujiwara (see verse No. 59)
