“ Yado kase! ” to
Katana nage-dasu
Fubuki kana!
—Buson
“ Give lodging tonight,”
He shouts, flinging down his
sword.
See the windblown snow!
On entering the inn, the swordsman throws down his weapon to
indicate that he comes with peaceful intent. Was the unknown
man who rushed in from the blizzard (literally “ windblown
snow ”) a fugitive from justice, a half-frozen traveler, or a noble
man traveling incognito ? The reader is left to fill in this startling
picture.