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- Manyoshu
Shiratama no iotsu tsudoi o toki mo mizu wa wa hoshikatenu awamu hi matsu ni
Without even loosening my strand of countless white pearls, I cannot dry my tear-wet sleeves, waiting for the day we will meet.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Amanogawa mizukagegusa no akikaze ni nabikau mireba toki wa kinikeri
When I see the grasses in the shade by the waters of the Heavenly River swaying in the autumn wind, I know the time has come.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Waga machishi akihagi sakinu ima dani mo nioi ni yukana ochikatabito ni
The autumn bush clover I waited for has bloomed. Now, this very moment, let me go, steeped in its color, to the one on the far side.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Waga seko ni urakoi oreba amanogawa yofune kogu naru kaji no oto kikoyu
As I sit longing for my beloved in my heart, I hear the sound of oars—someone rowing a night boat across the Heavenly River.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Makenagaku kouru kokoro yu akikaze ni imo ga oto kikoyu himo toki yukana
Perhaps because my heart has longed so many days, I hear my beloved's voice on the autumn wind. I will loosen my sash and go to her.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Koishiku wa kenagaki mono o ima dani mo tomoshimubeshi ya aubeki yo dani
The days of longing are so long—so should you leave me wanting even now, on the one night we are meant to meet?
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Amanogawa kozo no watarize utsuroeba kawase o fumu ni yo zo fukenikeru
Because last year's ford across the Heavenly River has shifted, the night has grown late as I wade through the shallows searching.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Inishie yu ageteshi hata mo kaerimizu ama no kawazu ni toshi zo henikeru
Neglecting even the loom I set up long ago, I have let the years go by at the ford of the Heavenly River.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Amanogawa yobune o kogite akenu tomo awamu to omou yo sode kaezu aramu
Rowing my night boat across the Heavenly River, even if dawn should break, on this night I mean to meet her, how could we not exchange sleeves?
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Tōzuma to tamakura kaete netaru yo wa torigane na naki akeba akenu tomo
On the night I sleep with my faraway wife, our arms as each other's pillows, O cock, do not crow—if dawn must break, let it break.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Aimiraku akidaranedomo inanome no akesarinikeri funade semu tsuma
Though I have not had my fill of being with you, dawn has broken. I must set out in my boat, my wife.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Sanesomete ikuda mo araneba shirotae no obi koubeshi ya koi mo sugineba
We have only just begun to lie together, and so little time has passed—should you ask for your white sash so soon, when our longing is not yet spent?
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Yorozuyo ni tazusawari ite aimi tomo omoisugubeki koi ni aranaku ni
Even if we stayed hand in hand for ten thousand ages, meeting each other, this is not a love whose longing would ever pass away.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Yorozuyo ni terubeki tsuki mo kumogakuri kurushiki mono zo awamu to omoedo
Just as the moon, meant to shine for ten thousand ages, is hidden by clouds, how painful it is—though I think to meet you.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Shirakumo no ioe ni kakuri tōku tomo yoi sarazu mimu imo ga atari wa
Though she is far away, hidden by white clouds folded five hundred deep, every evening without fail I will gaze toward where my beloved lives.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Aga tame to tanabatatsume no sono yado ni oru shirotae wa oritekemu ka mo
The white cloth the Weaver Maiden weaves in her dwelling, saying it is for me—has she finished weaving it by now?
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro