(Chihei) Ten Years Until the Bamboo Blossoms

He is a flower, a white flower of death, striding proudly and gracefully toward the throne that belongs to him. He is bamboo, steadfast green bamboo, whose noble and pure soul offers the gods their sweetest comfort. Give me half your soul. If you do not forsake me, I will never waver. I will cherish it, faithful until death. The bamboo grows for ten years, only for the flower to bloom for a moment. For you, I have no regrets.