In self-mockery.
this back of mine going off into the cold rain
ushiro sugata no shigurete yuku ka
circa 1931 · On the begging road
Sōmokutō · The Begging Bowl (Hachi no ko)
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A self-portrait in which one self watches, and sees off, his own retreating figure going away through the cold rain. Even his wretched form, wet and walking, is held in a quiet gaze from somewhere far off. One of Santōka's best-known poems.