classic waka stream

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  • Kokin Wakashu

Sato wa arete hito wa furinishi yado nare ya
niwa mo magaki mo aki no nora naru

Is it because the village has fallen into ruin and its people have grown old? Even the garden and its hedges now appear like an autumn field.

Kokin Wakashu - Sojo Henjo

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Fuku kara ni aki no kusaki no shiorureba
mube yamakaze o arashi to iuramu

As soon as it blows, the grasses and trees of autumn wither at once—no wonder the mountain wind is called a storm.

Kokin Wakashu - Funya no Asayasu

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Kusa mo ki mo iro wa kawaredomo watatsuumi no
nami no hana ni zo aki nakarikeru

Though grasses and trees change their colors, in the blossoms of the sea’s waves there is no sign of autumn.

Kokin Wakashu - Funya no Asayasu

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Momiji senu Tokiwa no yama wa fuku kaze no
oto ni ya aki o kikiwataruramu

On the evergreen mountain where leaves never turn, must it be through the sound of the wind that autumn is known?

Kokin Wakashu - Ki no Yoshimochi

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Kiri tachite kari zo naku naru Kataoka no
Ashita no hara wa momiji shinuramu

Mist rises, and the wild geese are calling—on the morning plain of Kataoka, the leaves must now have turned to autumn colors.

Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet

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Kannazuki shigure mo imada furanaku ni
kanete utsurou Kannabi no mori

Though the drizzling rains of the tenth month have not yet fallen, already the sacred forest of Kannabi begins to change its colors.

Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet

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Chihayaburu Kannabiyama no momijiba ni
omoi wa kakeji utsurou mono o

I shall not set my heart on the autumn leaves of Mount Kannabi, for they change their colors and fall away.

Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet

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Onaji eda o wakite ko no ha o utsurou wa
nishi koso aki no hajime narikere

Though they are from the same branch, the leaves begin to change color from the west; it is from the west that autumn first begins.

Kokin Wakashu - Fujiwara no Katsumine

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Akikaze no fukinishi hi yori Otowayama
mine no kozue mo irozukinikeri

Since the day the autumn wind began to blow, even the treetops on the peak of Mount Otowa have begun to change their colors.

Kokin Wakashu - Ki no Tsurayuki

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Shiratsuyu no iro wa hitotsu o ika ni shite
aki no ko no ha o chiji ni somuramu

Though the color of white dew is but one, how is it that it dyes the autumn leaves into so many varied hues?

Kokin Wakashu - Fujiwara no Toshiyuki

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Aki no yo no tsuyu o ba tsuyu to okinagara
kari no namida ya nobe o somuramu

Though the dew of the autumn night lies there as mere dew, could it be that the tears of the geese dye the fields?

Kokin Wakashu - Mibu no Tadamine

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Aki no tsuyu iroiro koto ni okeba koso
yama no ko no ha no chigusa narurame

Because the autumn dew settles in many different ways, the leaves of the mountain trees take on many varied colors.

Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet

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Shiratsuyu mo shigure mo itaku Moruyama wa
shitaba nokorazu irozukinikeri

On the mountain where not only white dew but even autumn showers pass through, even the lower leaves have all changed their colors without exception.

Kokin Wakashu - Ki no Tsurayuki

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Ame furedo tsuyu mo moraji o Kasatori no
yama wa ikade ka momiji somekemu

Though rain may fall and even dew should not pass through, how has Mount Kasatori come to be colored with autumn leaves?

Kokin Wakashu - Ariwara no Motokata

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Chihayaburu kami no igaki ni hau kuzu mo
aki ni wa aezu utsuroinikeri

Even the kudzu growing upon the sacred fence of the gods cannot withstand autumn, and its leaves too have changed their color.

Kokin Wakashu - Ki no Tsurayuki

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Ame fureba Kasatoriyama no momijiba wa
yukikau hito no sode sae zo teru

When rain falls, the autumn leaves of Mount Kasatori grow vivid, and even the sleeves of those who pass by are illuminated by their brilliance.

Kokin Wakashu - Mibu no Tadamine

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