Stories of the Japanese 00289 [Mid-Heian Period] The Tosa Diary: Return to the Capital

Another noteworthy point about The Tosa Diary is the frequent mention of the fear of pirates.
The year was 935. During this period, pirates in the Seto Inland Sea were repeatedly plundering passing ships. A ship carrying the former Governor of Tosa would surely have been a prime target.
"Thinking that the pirates might seek revenge"
Because this passage exists, it is likely that Tsurayuki, who had been the Governor of Tosa, had implemented some measures that earned him the pirates' resentment. Incidentally, it would be four years later that Fujiwara no Sumitomo, who led pirates primarily in the Seto Inland Sea, would launch his rebellion against the Imperial Court.
In the final chapter of The Tosa Diary, the miserable state of his home in the capital, to which he finally returned, is described. Although he had entrusted the house to a neighbor and had always sent them gifts, both the garden and the interior of the house were in ruins. Tsurayuki stated,
"The heart of the person I entrusted my house to has also become desolate."
(It is not just the house, but the heart of the person I entrusted it to that has become desolate.)
His family members wanted to protest, asking, "How could this happen?" but Tsurayuki stopped them, saying,
"Let us just show our gratitude."
(For now, let us just offer our thanks.)
This offers a rare glimpse into Tsurayuki's sensible, common-sense side.
Now, after returning from Tosa, Tsurayuki did not hold any significant government posts, perhaps because he had lost his patron. In March 940, he was appointed as the Head of the Bureau of Palace Repairs, and in March 945, he was appointed as the Provisional Assistant Director of the Carpentry Bureau, a position second-in-command at the office responsible for palace construction. However, these were not particularly important roles, and compared to the time when he was ordered to compile the Kokin Wakashu, his later years could be described as unfortunate.
Then, in May 945, Tsurayuki quietly ended his life of over 70 years. His death poem reflects the misfortune of his later years.
"Like the reflection of the moon in the water I scoop in my hands, this world is fleeting, as if it exists and yet does not."
He laments a world as transient as the reflection of the moon in water scooped by hand.
Now, Tsurayuki's most famous poem is likely the one selected for the Hyakunin Isshu. It is said that when Tsurayuki visited Hasedera Temple (Sakurai City, Nara Prefecture), the owner of an inn he had known for a long time said to him, "You haven't come to visit at all lately," and he composed this poem while breaking off a plum branch to hand to him.
"As for people, I do not know their hearts; but in this old village, the flowers still bloom with the same fragrance as in the past."
(I do not know if your feelings have changed, but here in the old capital of Nara, the scent of the plum blossoms greets me just as it did in the past.)Within just 31 characters, he contrasts things that change with things that remain the same, and I believe it is a masterpiece that truly shows the brilliance of Tsurayuki as a court poet.