classic waka stream

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  • Shui Wakashu

Kokoro mote chiran dani koso oshikarame nado ka momiji ni kaze no fukuran

Even if the autumn leaves fell of their own accord it would be a sorrow, so why must the wind blow upon them?

Shui Wakashu - Ki no Tsurayuki

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Asa madaki arashi no yama no samukereba momiji no nishiki kinu hito zo naki

Early in the morning the storm on Mount Arashi blows so cold that there is no one who is not clothed in the brocade of falling autumn leaves.

Shui Wakashu - Fujiwara no Kintō

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Akigiri no mine ni mo o ni mo tatsu yama wa momiji no nishiki tamarazarikeri

On hills where the autumn mist rises on peaks and ridges alike, as if cutting cloth, the brocade of autumn leaves does not remain.

Shui Wakashu - Onakatomi no Yoshinobu

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Iroiro no konoha nagaruru ōigawa shimo wa katsura no momiji to ya min

Leaves of every color flow down the Ōi River; downstream at Katsura, will people take them for the leaves of their own katsura trees?

Shui Wakashu - Mibu no Tadamine

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Maneku tote tachi mo tomaranu aki yue ni aware katayoru hanasusuki kana

Because autumn will not stop though it is beckoned, the plumed pampas grass, alas, bends all to one side.

Shui Wakashu - Sone no Yoshitada

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Kurete yuku aki no katami ni oku mono wa waga motoyui no shimo ni zo arikeru

What departing autumn leaves behind as a keepsake turns out to be the frost on the cord that binds my hair, my whitening hair.

Shui Wakashu - Taira no Kanemori

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Ashihiki no yama kakikumori shigururedo momiji wa itodo teri masarikeri

Though the mountains are clouded over and cold showers fall, the autumn leaves only shine all the more brightly.

Shui Wakashu - Ki no Tsurayuki

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Ajiroki ni kaketsutsu arau karanishiki hi o hete yosuru momiji narikeri

The Chinese brocade caught on the posts of the fishing weir and washed over and over turns out to be the autumn leaves that drift there day after day.

Shui Wakashu - Unknown Poet

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Kakikurashi shigururu sora o nagametsutsu omoi koso yare kannabi no mori

Gazing at the sky darkened all over with cold showers, my thoughts go out to the sacred grove of Kannabi.

Shui Wakashu - Ki no Tsurayuki

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Kannazuki shigure shinurashi kuzu no ha no urakogaru ne ni shika mo naku nari

The Tenth Month has come, and cold showers must have fallen, for the deer too are crying out in a voice that burns with longing, like the undersides of kudzu leaves scorched with color.

Shui Wakashu - Unknown Poet

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Tatsutagawa momijiba nagaru kannabi no mimuro no yama ni shigure furu rashi

Autumn leaves are drifting down the Tatsuta River; on the sacred hill of Mimuro, cold showers must be falling.

Shui Wakashu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro

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Karanishiki eda ni hitomura nokoreru wa aki no katami o tatanu narikeri

That a single cluster of brocade-like leaves remains on the branch is because autumn left its keepsake uncut.

Shui Wakashu - Henjō

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Nagarekuru momijiba mireba karanishiki taki no ito mote oreru narikeri

Looking at the autumn leaves flowing down, I see that they are a Chinese brocade woven with the threads of the waterfall.

Shui Wakashu - Ki no Tsurayuki

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Shigure yue kazuku tamoto o yosobito wa momiji o harau sode ka to ya min

The sleeve I draw over my head against the cold showers—might strangers looking on take it for a sleeve brushing away falling autumn leaves?

Shui Wakashu - Taira no Kanemori

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Ashi no ha ni kakurete sumishi tsu no kuni no koya mo arawa ni fuyu wa kinikeri

In the land of Tsu, the hut at Koya, once hidden among the reed leaves, now stands bare to view, for winter has come.

Shui Wakashu - Minamoto no Shigeyuki

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Omoikane imogari yukeba fuyu no yo no kawakaze samumi chidori naku nari

Unable to bear my longing, I set out for my beloved's house; on this winter night the wind off the river is so cold that the plovers are crying.

Shui Wakashu - Ki no Tsurayuki

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