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- Manyoshu
Mukashi mishi Kisa no ogawa o ima mireba iyoyo sayakeku narinikeru kamo
The Kisa brook I saw long ago—seeing it now, I find it has become clearer and fresher than ever.
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Tabito
Tago no ura yu uchiidete mireba mashiro ni zo Fuji no takane ni yuki wa furikeru
Coming out past the bay of Tago and looking up, I see it—pure white, the snow has fallen on Fuji's lofty peak.
Manyoshu - Yamabe no Akahito
Fuji no ne ni furioku yuki wa minazuki no mochi ni kenureba sono yo furikeri
The snow lying on the peak of Fuji melts on the fifteenth day of the sixth month—and that very night, they say, it falls again.
Manyoshu - Takahashi no Mushimaro
Fuji no ne o takami kashikomi amakumo mo iyuki habakari tanabiku mono o
So high and awe-inspiring is the peak of Fuji that even the clouds of heaven hesitate to pass and hang trailing about it.
Manyoshu - Takahashi no Mushimaro
Momoshiki no ōmiyahito no Nikitatsu ni funanori shikemu toshi no shiranaku
The courtiers of the palace once set sail from Nikitatsu here—but in what year it was, no one now can tell.
Manyoshu - Yamabe no Akahito
Asukagawa kawayodo sarazu tatsu kiri no omoisugubeki koi ni aranaku ni
Like the mist that always rises over the still pools of the Asuka River—yet this longing is not one that will pass away and be forgotten.
Manyoshu - Yamabe no Akahito
Miwataseba Akashi no ura ni tomosu hi no ho ni zo idenuru imo ni kouraku
Like the fishing fires burning in Akashi Bay that I see far across the water, it has blazed out plain for all to see—my longing for my wife.
Manyoshu - Prince Kadobe
Watatsumi no oki ni mochiyukite hanatsu tomo uremu zo kore ga yomigaerinamu
Even if you carry it out to the sea god's offing and set it free—how could this ever come back to life?
Manyoshu - Tsūkan
Aoniyoshi Nara no miyako wa saku hana no niou ga gotoku ima sakari nari
The capital of Nara, like flowers in full bloom glowing with color, is now at the height of its glory.
Manyoshu - Ono no Oyu
Yasumishishi waga ōkimi no shikimaseru kuni no uchi ni wa miyako shi omooyu
Of all the lands our great sovereign rules, it is the capital that comes to my mind above all.
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Yotsuna
Fujinami no hana wa sakari ni narinikeri Nara no miyako o omoosu ya kimi
The wisteria has come into full bloom—do you think of the capital of Nara, my lord?
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Yotsuna
Waga sakari mata ochime ya mo hotohoto ni Nara no miyako o mizu ka narinamu
Will my prime ever return to me? I fear I may very nearly end my days without ever seeing the capital of Nara again.
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Tabito
Waga inochi mo tsune ni aranu ka mukashi mishi Kisa no ogawa o yukite mimu tame
If only my life too could last forever—so that I might go once more to see the Kisa brook I saw long ago.
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Tabito
Asajihara tsubara tsubara ni mono moeba furinishi sato shi omooyuru kamo
As I sink into thought, long and deep, the old village of my past keeps coming back to my mind.
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Tabito
Wasuregusa waga himo ni tsuku Kaguyama no furinishi sato o wasuremu ga tame
I fasten forgetting-grass to the cord of my robe, so that I may forget the old village by Mount Kagu.
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Tabito
Waga yuki wa hisa ni wa araji Ime no wada se ni wa narazute fuchi ni ari koso
My time away will not be long—Pool of Dreams, do not turn into shallows, but stay a deep pool until I come.
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Tabito