classic waka stream

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  • Kokin Wakashu

Ta ga aki ni aranu mono yue ominaeshi
nazo iro ni idete madaki utsurou

Since autumn belongs to no one alone, maidenflower, why do you show your color so soon and fade before the proper time?

Kokin Wakashu - Ki no Tsurayuki

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Tsuma kouru shika zo naku naru ominaeshi
ono ga sumu no no hana to shirazu ya

The stag cries out seeking his mate—maidenflower, do you not know that you are a flower growing in the very field where he dwells?

Kokin Wakashu - Oshikochi no Mitsune

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Ominaeshi fukisugite kuru akikaze wa
me ni wa mienedo ka koso shirukere

The autumn wind that has passed over the maidenflowers cannot be seen, yet its fragrance clearly reveals it.

Kokin Wakashu - Oshikochi no Mitsune

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Hito no miru koto ya kurushiki ominaeshi
akigiri ni nomi tachikakururamu

Is it so painful to be seen by others? The maidenflower seems to hide itself only within the autumn mist.

Kokin Wakashu - Mibu no Tadamine

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Hitori nomi nagamuru yori wa ominaeshi
waga sumu yado ni uete mimashi o

Rather than gazing alone in longing, maidenflower, I would wish to transplant you into the dwelling where I live.

Kokin Wakashu - Mibu no Tadamine

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Ominaeshi ushirometaku mo miyuru kana
aretaru yado ni hitori tatereba

The maidenflower appears somehow troubling to my heart, standing alone in a dwelling that has fallen into ruin.

Kokin Wakashu - Kanramu Ou

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Hana ni akade nani kaeruramu ominaeshi
ōkaru nobe ni nenamashi mono o

Not yet satisfied with the flowers—why should one think of returning? In this field where maidenflowers abound, I would rather stay the night.

Kokin Wakashu - Taira no Sadabumi

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Nanibito ka kite nugikakeshi fujibakama
kuru aki goto ni nobe o niowasu

Who could it have been that came and left this robe behind? Each autumn, the fujibakama gives forth its fragrance across the fields.

Kokin Wakashu - Fujiwara no Toshiyuki

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Yadori seshi hito no katami ka fujibakama
wasuraregataki ka ni nioitsutsu

Is it a keepsake of the one who once stayed here? The fujibakama continues to give off a fragrance that is hard to forget.

Kokin Wakashu - Ki no Tsurayuki

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Nushi shiranu ka koso nioere aki no no ni
ta ga nugikakeshi fujibakama zo mo

A fragrance whose owner is unknown drifts through the air. On this autumn field, whose robe has been cast off and left behind—this fujibakama?

Kokin Wakashu - Sosei Hoshi

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Ima yori wa uete dani miji hanasusuki
ho ni izuru aki wa wabishikarikeri

From now on, I will not even plant it to admire. When the plume-grass comes into ear in autumn, it brings such deep loneliness.

Kokin Wakashu - Taira no Sadabumi

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Aki no no no kusa no tamoto ka hanasusuki
ho ni idete maneku sode to miyuramu

Are they the sleeves of grasses in the autumn field? The plumes of silver grass, as they emerge, seem like sleeves beckoning someone near.

Kokin Wakashu - Ariwara no Muneyoshi

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Ware nomi ya aware to omowamu kirigirisu
naku yūkage no yamatonadeshiko

Am I alone in finding it moving—the yamato-nadeshiko blooming in the evening light where crickets cry?

Kokin Wakashu - Sosei Hoshi

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Midori naru hitotsu kusa to zo haru wa mishi
aki wa iroiro no hana ni zo arikeru

In spring I saw them as a single green grass, yet in autumn they reveal themselves as flowers of many different colors.

Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet

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Momokusa no hana no himotoku aki no no ni
omoi tawaremu hito na togame so

In the autumn field where countless grasses loosen their cords and bloom, let me give my heart over to feeling—let no one reproach me for it.

Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet

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Tsukikusa ni koromo wa suramu asatsuyu ni
nurete no nochi wa utsuroinu tomo

I would dye my garments with the color of the moonflower, even though, once wet with the morning dew, their color will surely fade.

Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet

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