A nice reminder about getting older is poem number 34:
| Japanese | Romanization | Translation |
| 誰をかも | Tare o ka mo | Whom, then, shall I have |
| 知る人にせむ | Shiru hito ni sen | as someone who knows me— |
| 高砂の | Takasago no | since even the ancient pines |
| 松もむかしの | Matsu mo mukashi no | of Takasago |
| 友ならなくに | Tomo nara naku ni | are not friends from my past. |
Takasago is a famous city on Harima Bay in Japan, in what is now modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture, and is known for its ancient pine forests. Takasago is also mentioned in poem 71 as well. The most famous, sacred pine there is the aioi no matsu (相生の松) at Takasago Shrine, which has been growing since the temple’s foundation. The pine trunk splits into two, and thus has become a symbol of marital harmony between husband and wife.
Fujiwara no Okikaze was one of the Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry (sanjūrokkasen, 三十六歌仙) according to Mostow, but details of his life, including birth and death, are not known.
The Hyakunin Isshu 
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