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- Manyoshu
Okuyama no suga no ha shinogi furu yuki no kenaba oshikemu ame na furi so ne
The snow that has fallen deep in the mountains, bowing down the leaves of the sedge—how sad if it should melt. Rain, please do not fall.
Manyoshu - The Great Counselor Lord Ōtomo
Saho sugite Nara no tamuke ni oku nusa wa imo o mekarezu aimishime to zo
Passing Saho, I leave an offering to the god of the pass on Nara Hill with this prayer: let me see my wife always, never kept from her sight.
Manyoshu - Prince Nagaya
Iwagane no kogoshiki yama o koekanete ne ni wa naku tomo iro ni ideme ya mo
Unable to cross mountains so rugged with rock, I may weep aloud—but would I ever let my longing show in my face?
Manyoshu - Prince Nagaya
Kora ga ieji yaya madōki o nubatama no yo wataru tsuki ni kioiaemu kamo
The way to her house is rather far—can I race the moon crossing the dark night sky and reach her before it sets?
Manyoshu - Abe no Hironiwa
Naguwashiki Inami no umi no okitsu nami chie ni kakurinu Yamatoshimane wa
Behind the thousandfold waves of the offing in the famed sea of Inami, it has vanished from sight—the land of Yamato.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Ōkimi no tō no mikado to arigayou shimato o mireba kamuyo shi omooyu
Looking at the straits among the islands, through which people have long passed to and from our sovereign's distant court, I find myself thinking of the age of the gods.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Kaku yue ni miji to iu mono o Sasanami no furuki miyako o misetsutsu motona
It was for this very reason I said I would not look—yet the old capital at Sasanami is shown to me, and my heart is needlessly torn.
Manyoshu - Takechi no Kurohito
Ise no umi no okitsu shiranami hana ni moga tsutsumite imo ga iezuto ni semu
If only the white waves out on the sea of Ise were flowers—I would wrap them up and bring them home as a gift for my wife.
Manyoshu - Prince Aki
Hadasusuki Kume no wakugo ga imashikeru Miho no iwaya wa miredo akanu kamo
The rock cave of Miho, where Kume's young lord is said to have dwelt—however long I gaze, I never tire of it.
Manyoshu - Hakutsū
Tokiwa nasu iwaya wa ima mo arikeredo sumikeru hito zo tsune nakarikeru
The rock cave, changeless as eternal stone, still stands today—but the one who lived there was not so lasting.
Manyoshu - Hakutsū
Iwayato ni tateru matsu no ki na o mireba mukashi no hito o aimiru gotoshi
Pine tree standing at the mouth of the rock cave, when I look at you it is as though I were meeting the one who lived here long ago.
Manyoshu - Hakutsū
Himugashi no ichi no ueki no kodaru made awazu hisashimi ube koinikeri
So long has it been since we met that the trees planted in the eastern market have grown until their boughs hang low—no wonder I have come to long for you.
Manyoshu - Prince Kadobe
Azusayumi hiki Toyokuni no Kagamiyama mizu hisa naraba kōshikemu kamo
Mount Kagami in the land of Toyo—once I have gone long without seeing it, how I shall long for it!
Manyoshu - Kuratsukuri no Masuhito
Mukashi koso Naniwa inaka to iwarekeme ima wa miyako hiki miyakobinikeri
Long ago, perhaps, they called Naniwa the countryside—but now the capital has been brought here, and it has become a true city.
Manyoshu - Fujiwara no Umakai
Miyoshino no taki no shiranami shiranedomo katari shi tsugeba inishie omooyu
I have never seen the white waves of the rapids at Yoshino, yet because the tales have been passed down, I find myself thinking of the days of old.
Manyoshu - Tori no Senryō
Sazarenami Isokoshiji naru Notosegawa oto no sayakesa tagitsu se goto ni
The Notose River along the Isokoshi road—how clear and fresh its sound at every rushing rapid!
Manyoshu - Hata no Otari