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- Manyoshu
Yama no ma no yuki wa kezu aru o minagirau kawa no soi ni wa moenikeru ka mo
Between the hills the snow still lies unmelted, and yet along the brimming river the willows have burst into bud.
Asanasa na waga miru yanagi uguisu no kiite nakubeku mori ni haya nare
Willow that I gaze upon morning after morning, grow quickly into a grove, so that bush warblers may come to perch and sing in you.
Aoyagi no ito no kuwashisa harukaze ni midarenu ima ni misemu ko mo ga mo
How fine and lovely are the threads of the green willow! If only I had a girl to show them to, before the spring wind tangles them.
Momoshiki no ōmiyabito no kazurakeru shidariyanagi wa miredo akanu ka mo
The weeping willows that the courtiers of the great palace wear twined in their hair—however long I gaze at them, I never tire.
Ume no hana torimochi mireba waga yado no yanagi no mayu shi omooyuru ka mo
As I take plum blossoms in my hand and gaze at them, the willow at my home, with its young leaves like a woman's eyebrows, comes to mind.
Uguisu no kozutau ume no utsuroeba sakura no hana no toki katamakenu
Now that the plum blossoms, where the bush warbler flits from branch to branch, are fading, the season of the cherry blossoms has drawn near.
Sakurabana toki wa sugine do miru hito no kouru sakari to ima shi chiruramu
Though the cherry blossoms' season has not yet passed, they must be scattering now because this is the height when those who see them love them most.
Waga kazasu yanagi no ito o fukimidaru kaze ni ka imo ga ume no chiruramu
Is it in this wind, the one that tangles the willow threads I wear in my hair, that the plum blossoms at my beloved's house are scattering now?
Toshi no ha ni ume wa sakedomo utsusemi no yo no hito ware shi haru nakarikeri
Every year the plum blossoms bloom, but for me, a person living in this fleeting world, there has never been a spring.
Utsutae ni tori wa hamane do nawa haete moramaku hoshiki ume no hana ka mo
It is not that birds peck at them at all, and yet these plum blossoms make me long to stretch ropes around them and stand guard.
Uma namete taka no yamabe o shirotae ni niowashitaru wa ume no hana ka mo
What makes the slopes of Taka glow pure white, as if riders were ranged there side by side—could it be the plum blossoms?
Hana sakite mi wa naranedomo nagaki ke ni omooyuru ka mo yamabuki no hana
Though its flowers bloom, it bears no fruit—yet for long days on end it stays in my thoughts, the yellow yamabuki flower.
Notogawa no minasoko sae ni teru made ni mikasa no yama wa sakinikeru ka mo
So brightly that even the depths of the Noto River shine, Mount Mikasa has burst into bloom.
Yuki mireba imada fuyu nari shikasuga ni harugasumi tachi ume wa chiritsutsu
When I look at the snow, it is still winter—and yet the spring haze has risen, and the plum blossoms go on scattering.
Kozo sakishi hisagi ima saku itazura ni tsuchi ni ka ochimu miru hito nashi ni
The hisagi that bloomed last year is blooming now. Will its flowers fall to the ground in vain, with no one to see them?
Ashihiki no yama no ma terasu sakurabana kono harusame ni chiriyukamu ka mo
The cherry blossoms that light up the gaps between the hills—will they scatter away in this spring rain?