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- Manyoshu
Hatsusegawa yū watarikite wagimoko ga ie no kanato ni chikazuki ni keri
Crossing the Hatsuse River at dusk, I have drawn near at last to the gate of my beloved's house.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Tayuraki no yama no onoe no sakurabana sakamu harube wa kimi shi shinowamu
When spring comes and the cherry blossoms bloom on the peak of Mount Tayuraki, it is you I shall remember with longing.
Manyoshu - the Maiden of Harima
Kimi naku wa nazo mi yosowamu kushige naru tsuge no ogushi mo toramu tomo omowazu
Without you, why should I dress myself up? I have no wish even to take up the little boxwood comb that lies in my comb box.
Manyoshu - the Maiden of Harima
Asu yori wa are wa koimu na nahoriyama iwa fuminarashi kimi ga koeinaba
From tomorrow on I shall long for you, once you have crossed Mount Nahori, treading its rocks underfoot.
Inochi o shi masakiku mo ga mo nahoriyama iwa fuminarashi mata mata mo komu
If only my life is spared, I will come again and again, treading the rocks of Mount Nahori underfoot.
Manyoshu - Fujii no Muraji
Umitsuji no naginamu toki mo wataranamu kaku tatsu nami ni funade subeshi ya
I wish you would cross when the sea road has grown calm. Should you set out by ship while the waves rise like this?
Manyoshu - Takahashi no Mushimaro (from the Mushimaro Collection)
Yuki koso ba haruhi kiyurame kokoro sae kieusetare ya koto mo kayowanu
Snow may melt away in the spring sun, but has your heart too melted and vanished, that not a word passes between us?
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Matsugaeri shiite are ya wa mitsuguri no nakanobori konu maro to iu yatsuko
Has he gone soft in the head? That fellow called Maro never comes up to the capital in the middle of his term.
Watatsumi no izure no kami o inoraba ka yukusa mo kusa mo fune no hayakemu
To which of the gods of the sea should I pray, so that your ship may speed on its way there and on its way home?
Mikoshiji no yuki furu yama o koemu hi wa tomareru ware o kakete shinowase
On the day you cross the snowy mountains on the road to Koshi, keep me, who stays behind, in your heart and think of me.
Manyoshu - Kasa no Kanamura (from the Kanamura Collection)
Furuyama yu tada ni miwatasu miyako ni zo i mo nezu kouru tōku aranaku ni
The capital lies in plain view from Mount Furu, yet I long for it without sleeping, though it is not far away.
Manyoshu - Kasa no Kanamura (from the Kanamura Collection)
Wagimoko ga yuiteshi himo o tokame ya mo taeba tayu tomo tada ni au made ni
Would I untie the cord my beloved tied for me? Let it break if it must, until I meet her face to face.
Manyoshu - Kasa no Kanamura (from the Kanamura Collection)
Tabibito no yadori semu no ni shimo furaba waga ko hagukume ame no tazumura
If frost falls on the field where the traveler sleeps, shelter my child beneath your wings, O cranes flying across the sky.
Kakiho nasu hito no yokogoto shigemi kamo awanu hi maneku tsuki no henuramu
Is it because people, hemming us in like a hedge, are so full of slander that the days without meeting have piled up and months have gone by?
Manyoshu - Tanabe no Sakimaro (from the Sakimaro Collection)
Tachikawari tsuki kasanarite awanedomo sane wasuraezu omokage ni shite
Though the months change and pile up and we do not meet, I cannot forget you at all, for your face keeps rising before my eyes.
Manyoshu - Tanabe no Sakimaro (from the Sakimaro Collection)
Imoragari imaki no mine ni shigeritatsu tsumamatsu no ki wa furuhito mikemu
The pine that stands thick on the ridge of Imaki, named for waiting for a wife, the people of old must have seen as well.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro