classic waka stream

  • Top
  • -
  • Kokin Wakashu

Akihagi ni urabire oreba ashibiki no
yamashita toyomi shika no nakuramu

As I sit in quiet sorrow before the autumn bush clover, the cry of a stag seems to echo from the foot of the mountain.

Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet

show detail

Akihagi o shigarami fusete naku shika no
me ni wa miezu te oto no sayakesa

The stag cries, pushing down the tangled bush clover; though it cannot be seen, its voice sounds clear and distinct.

Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet

show detail

Akihagi no hana sakinikeri Takasago no
onoe no shika wa ima wa nakuramu

Now that the autumn bush clover has come into bloom, the stag on the peak of Takasago must also be crying.

Kokin Wakashu - Fujiwara no Toshiyuki

show detail

Akihagi no furue ni sakeru hana mireba
moto no kokoro wa wasurezarikeri

Seeing the flowers blooming on the old branches of bush clover, I realize that the feelings I once had have not been forgotten.

Kokin Wakashu - Oshikochi no Mitsune

show detail

Akihagi no shitaba irozuku ima yori ya
hitori aru hito no inegate ni suru

From the time when the lower leaves of bush clover begin to turn color, will one who sleeps alone find it hard to sleep?

Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet

show detail

Nakiwataru kari no namida ya ochitsuramu
mono omou yado no hagi no ue no tsuyu

Are these the tears of geese crying as they pass across the sky? The dew upon the bush clover in this dwelling of sorrow.

Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet

show detail

Hagi no tsuyu tama ni nukamu to toreba kenu
yoshi mimu hito wa eda nagara mi yo

When I took the dewdrops on bush clover to thread them as jewels, they vanished; if one wishes to admire them, one must see them as they are upon the branch.

Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet

show detail

Orite miba ochi zo shinubeki akihagi no
eda mo tawawa ni okeru shiratsuyu

If one were to break and take it, it would surely fall; the white dew upon the bending branches of autumn bush clover.

Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet

show detail

Hagi ga hana chiruramu ono no tsuyujimo ni
nurete o yukamu sayo wa fuku tomo

Though the bush clover flowers may be falling in the fields, I will go on, wet with dew and frost, even as the night deepens.

Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet

show detail

Aki no no ni oku shiratsuyu wa tama nare ya
tsuranukikakuru kumo no itosuji

The white dew lying upon the grasses of the autumn field—are they jewels, strung one by one upon the threads of a spider’s web?

Kokin Wakashu - Funya no Asayasu

show detail

Na ni medete oreru bakari zo ominaeshi
ware ochiniki to hito ni kataru na

I plucked you only because I admired your name, maiden-flower; do not go telling others that I have fallen into such disgrace.

Kokin Wakashu - Sojo Henjo

show detail

Ominaeshi ushi to mitsutsu zo yukisuguru
Otokoyama ni shi tateri to omoeba

Seeing the maidenflower, I pass it by with distaste, for it stands blooming on Mount Otoko.

Kokin Wakashu - Furu no Imamichi

show detail

Aki no no ni yadori wa subeshi ominaeshi
na o mutsumajimi tabi naraku ni

Though I am not traveling, I shall lodge in the autumn fields, for the name of the maidenflower is dear to me.

Kokin Wakashu - Fujiwara no Toshiyuki

show detail

Ominaeshi ōkaru nobe ni yadori seba
ayanaku ada no na o ya tachinamu

If I were to stay in fields where many maidenflowers bloom, I would, without reason, gain a reputation for fickle love.

Kokin Wakashu - Ono no Yoshizai

show detail

Ominaeshi aki no nokaze ni uchinabiki
kokoro hitotsu o tare ni yosuramu

The maidenflowers bend in the autumn wind across the fields; so too, to whom does that single heart turn?

Kokin Wakashu - Fujiwara no Tokihira

show detail

Aki narade au koto kataki ominaeshi
ama no kawara ni oinu mono yue

Maidenflower, it is hard to meet you except in autumn, though you do not grow upon the banks of the River of Heaven.

Kokin Wakashu - Fujiwara no Sadakata

show detail