IN GHOSTLY JAPAN

Do not imagine

That dreams are things seen

Only at night!

Even by day, this sorrowful world

Is a dream.

original Japanese: "Yoru bakari / Miru mono nari to / Omou-nayo ! / Hiru saë yumé no / Ukiyo nari-kéri."

Do not think that dreams appear to the dreamer only at night: the dream of this sorrowful world Ukiyo: A Buddhist term originally meaning a "world of suffering," later evolving to describe the "floating world" of transient, fleeting pleasures and reality. appears to us even by day.

JAPANESE POEM.

Yoru bakari: Only at night
Omou-nayo: Do not think or imagine
Hiru saë: Even by day
yumé: A dream
Ukiyo nari-kéri: It is the "floating" or "sorrowful" world
Japanese Poem: The verse is likely a "waka" or "tanka," a traditional short poem.