- Top
- -
- Manyoshu
Amanogawa mizu sae ni teru fune hatete fune naru hito wa imo to mieki ya
A boat has come to rest on the Heavenly River, whose very waters shine—did the one aboard get to meet his wife?
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Hisakata no ama no kawara ni nuedori no uranagemashitsu subenaki made ni
On the shore of the Heavenly River, like the nue bird crying in the night, they grieved within their hearts, beyond all consolation.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Aga koi o tsuma wa shireru o yuku fune no sugite kubeshi ya koto mo tsuganamu
My spouse knows of my love—so should you pass by like a boat that sails on? At least send me a word.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Akarahiku irogushi ko o shiba mireba hitozuma yue ni are koinubeshi
Seeing so often that lovely girl, glowing with rosy color, I feel I am bound to fall in love, though she is another's wife.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Amanogawa yasu no watari ni fune ukete aki tatsu matsu to imo ni tsuge koso
Tell my wife that I have set my boat afloat at the Yasu crossing of the Heavenly River, and am waiting for autumn to begin.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Ōzora yu kayou ware sura na ga yue ni ama no kawaji o nazumite zo koshi
Even I, who travel freely through the great sky, have come toiling along the road of the Heavenly River, all for your sake.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Yachihoko no kami no miyo yori tomoshizuma hito shirinikeri tsugite shi omoeba
Since the age of the god Yachihoko she has been a wife I rarely meet—and now people have come to know of it, for I have thought of her without end.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Aga kouru ni no ho no omowa koyoi mo ka ama no kawara ni ishimakura maku
She whom I love, with her rosy-glowing face—tonight too, is she lying on the shore of the Heavenly River with a stone for her pillow?
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Onozuma ni tomoshiki kora wa hatemu tsu no ariso makite nemu kimi machikate ni
The girl who so rarely meets her husband will sleep with the rough rocks of the harbor where his boat should land as her pillow, unable to bear waiting for him.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Ametsuchi to wakareshi toki yu ono ga tsuma shika zo toshi ni aru aki matsu ware wa
Since heaven and earth were parted, she has been my wife—and so I wait for the autumn that comes but once a year.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Hikoboshi wa nagekasu tsuma ni koto dani mo tsuge ni zo kitsuru mireba kurushimi
The Herdsman Star has come to his grieving wife to bring her at least a word, for it pained him so to see her.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Hisakata no amatsu shirushi to minashigawa hedatete okishi kamiyo shi urameshi
How I resent the age of the gods, which set the waterless river between us as a sign of heaven's decree!
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Nubatama no yogiri ni komori tōku tomo imo ga tsute wa hayaku tsuge koso
Even though she is far away, hidden in the night mist, bring me word from my wife quickly.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Na ga kouru imo no mikoto wa akidara ni sode furu mietsu kumogakuru made
The lady you long for, still unsatisfied, could be seen waving her sleeves until she vanished into the clouds.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Yūzutsu mo kayou amaji o itsu made ka aogite matamu tsukihitootoko
How long will you go on gazing up and waiting along the road of heaven, where even the evening star passes, O young man of the moon?
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Amanogawa imukai tachite koishira ni koto dani tsugemu tsuma to iu made wa
Standing face to face across the Heavenly River, out of longing, I will at least send her words—until the time I can call her my wife.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro