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- Manyoshu
Harugasumi tatsu kasugano o yukikaeri ware wa aimimu iya toshi no ha ni
Coming and going over Kasuga Plain, where the spring haze rises, I will gaze upon it again and again, year after year.
Haru no no ni kokoro nobemu to omou dochi koshi kyō no hi wa kurezu mo aranu ka
We friends of one heart came out to the spring fields to let our spirits roam free—if only this day would never grow dark!
Momoshiki no ōmiyabito wa itoma are ya ume o kazashite koko ni tsudoeru
Do the courtiers of the great palace have time to spare? With plum blossoms in their hair, they have gathered here.
Fuyu sugite haru shi kitareba toshitsuki wa arata naredomo hito wa furiyuku
When winter has passed and spring comes, the years and months are made new—but people only grow older.
Mono mina wa aratashiki yoshi tadashiku mo hito wa furinishi yoroshikarubeshi
With all things, the new is best—yet with people, surely it is those grown old with the years who are best.
Suminoe no sato yukishikaba haruhana no iya mezurashiki kimi ni aeru ka mo
When I went to the village of Suminoe, I met you—more and more wondrous to me, like the flowers of spring.
Waga yado no kemomo no shita ni tsukuyo sashi shitagokoro yoshi utate kono koro
Beneath the downy peach tree at my home the moonlight shines in, and in my heart of hearts I am glad—more and more so these days.
Haruyama no tomouguisu no nakiwakare kaerimasu ma mo omōse ware o
Like the paired warblers on the spring hills that part with their cries, we part in tears—so even on your way home, please keep me in your thoughts.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Fuyugomori haru saku hana o taorimochi chitabi no kagiri koiwataru ka mo
Holding in my hand the flowers of spring that I have broken off, I go on longing for you, to the limit of a thousand times.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Haruyama no kiri ni madoeru uguisu mo ware ni masarite mono omowame ya mo
Could even the bush warbler, lost and wandering in the mist of the spring hills, be more troubled in heart than I? Surely not.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Idete miru mukai no oka ni moto shigeku sakitaru hana no narazu wa yamaji
On the hill across from me, which I go out to see, the flowers bloom thickly down to their roots—surely they will not fail to bear fruit.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Kasumi tatsu haru no nagahi o koikurashi yo mo fukeyuku ni imo mo awanu ka mo
I spent the long spring day, when haze rises, in longing; and now, as the night grows late, will she not come to meet me?
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Haru sareba mazu sakikusa no sakiku araba nochi ni mo awamu na koi so wagimo
Like the sakikusa that blooms first when spring comes, if only we stay safe and well, we will meet again later. Do not pine so, my darling.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Haru sareba shidariyanagi no tōo ni mo imo wa kokoro ni norinikeru ka mo
As the weeping willow bends low in spring, so my beloved has come to weigh upon my heart and will not leave it.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Haru sareba mozu no kusaguki miezu tomo ware wa miyaramu kimi ga atari o ba
As the shrike hides away in the grass when spring comes, you are hidden from my sight—yet still I will gaze toward the place where you live.
Kaodori no ma naku shiba naku haru no no no kusane no shigeki koi mo suru ka mo
Like the grass roots growing thick in the spring fields where the kaodori sings on without pause, so thick and constant is the love I feel.