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- Manyoshu
Shima no miya ue no ike naru hanachidori arabi na yuki so kimi masazu tomo
You birds set free on the upper pond of the Shima Palace, do not grow wild and fly away, even though our lord is here no more.
Takaterasu waga hi no miko no imashiseba shima no mikado wa arezu aramashi o
If our high-shining prince, child of the sun, were still alive, the halls of the Shima Palace would not be falling into ruin.
Yoso ni mishi mayumi no oka mo kimi maseba tokotsu mikado to tonoi suru kamo
Mayumi Hill, which I once looked on as no concern of mine—now that you dwell there, my lord, I keep watch through the night as at your everlasting palace.
Ime ni dani mizu arishi mono o ōhoshiku miyade mo suru ka sahi no kumami o
Never had I seen it even in a dream, yet now, with a heavy heart, I go out to serve at the shrine along the winding road through Hinokuma.
Ametsuchi to tomo ni oemu to omoitsutsu tsukaematsurishi kokoro tagainu
I served you thinking I would stay in your service as long as heaven and earth endure, yet the hope of my heart has now gone astray.
Asahi teru sada no okabe ni mureitsutsu waga naku namida yamu toki mo nashi
Gathered in a throng on the slopes of Sada Hill where the morning sun shines, the tears we weep never cease.
Mitatashi no shima o miru toki niwatazumi nagaruru namida tome zo kanetsuru
When I look upon the garden isle where our prince used to stand, the tears that stream like rainwater on the ground cannot be held back.
Tachibana no shima no miya ni wa akanu kamo sada no okabe ni tonoi shi ni yuku
Is it that serving at the Shima Palace in Tachibana does not satisfy my heart? I go all the way to the slopes of Sada Hill to keep the night watch.
Mitatashi no shima o mo ie to sumu tori mo arabi na yuki so toshi kawaru made
You birds that make your home on the garden isle where our prince used to stand, do not grow wild and fly away, at least until the year has turned.
Mitatashi no shima no ariso o ima mireba oizarishi kusa oinikeru kamo
Looking now at the rocky shore of the garden isle where our prince used to stand, I see that grass which never grew there before has sprung up.
Toguratate kaishi kari no ko sudachinaba mayumi no oka ni tobikaerikone
You goslings of the wild goose, raised on the perch that was set up for you—when you have left the nest, come flying back to Mayumi Hill.
Waga mikado chiyo tokotoba ni sakaemu to omoite arishi ware shi kanashi mo
I believed our palace would flourish for a thousand ages, forever—and now it is I, who believed it, who am so sad.
Himugashi no tagi no mikado ni saburaedo kinō mo kyō mo mesu koto mo nashi
I wait on duty at the eastern gate beside the rushing falls, yet yesterday and today alike, no word comes to summon me.
Minatsutau iso no urami no iwatsutsuji moku saku michi o mata mo mimu kamo
The path where rock azaleas bloom so thickly along the rocky inlet where the water trickles—shall I ever see it again?
Hitohi ni wa chitabi mairishi himugashi no ōki mikado o irikatenu kamo
Through the great eastern gate that I once entered a thousand times a day, I now cannot bring myself to pass.
Tsure mo naki sada no okabe ni kaeri iba shima no mihashi ni tare ka sumawamu
If we go to live on the slopes of Sada Hill, a place that means nothing to us, who then will dwell on the stairs of the Shima Palace?