classic waka stream

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  • Kokin Wakashu

Miru hito mo nakute chirinuru okuyama no
momiji wa yoru no nishiki narikeri

With no one to see them, the autumn leaves deep in the mountains scatter and fall—they are but brocade worn in the night.

Kokin Wakashu - Ki no Tsurayuki

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Tatsutahime tamukuru kami no areba koso
aki no ko no ha no nusa to chirurame

Because there is a god who makes offerings to Tatsuta-hime, the autumn leaves must fall like sacred streamers.

Kokin Wakashu - Kanramu Ou

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Aki no yama momiji o nusa to tamukureba
sumu ware sae zo tabigokochi suru

When the autumn mountains offer their red leaves like sacred streamers, even I who dwell here feel as though I were on a journey.

Kokin Wakashu - Ki no Tsurayuki

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Kannabi no yama o sugiyuku aki nareba
Tatsutagawa ni zo nusa o tamukuru

As autumn passes beyond the sacred Kannabi mountain, it makes offerings of leaves upon the Tatsuta River.

Kokin Wakashu - Fukayabu

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Shiranami ni aki no ko no ha no ukaberu o
ama no nagaseru fune ka to zo miru

The autumn leaves floating upon the white waves appear to me like a fisher’s boat set adrift.

Kokin Wakashu - Fujiwara no Okikaze

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Momijiba no nagarezariseba Tatsutagawa
mizu no aki o ba tare ka shiramashi

If the autumn leaves had not flowed along it, who would ever know that autumn had come to the waters of the Tatsuta River?

Kokin Wakashu - Sakanoue no Koreyuki

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Yamagawa ni kaze no kaketaru shigarami wa
nagare mo aenu momiji narikeri

On the mountain river, the barrier the wind has cast is none other than autumn leaves that cannot drift away.

Kokin Wakashu - Harumichi no Toshi

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Kaze fukeba otsuru momijiba mizu kiyomi
chiranu kage sae soko ni mietsutsu

When the wind blows, the autumn leaves fall—but the water is so clear that even those not yet fallen are seen upon the bottom.

Kokin Wakashu - Oshikochi no Mitsune

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Tachitomari mite o wataramu momijiba wa
ame to furu tomo mizu wa masaraji

I will pause to look, and then cross—the autumn leaves may fall like rain, yet the waters will not rise.

Kokin Wakashu - Oshikochi no Mitsune

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Yamada moru aki no kariio ni oku tsuyu wa
inaosedori no namida narikeri

The dew that falls upon the autumn watch-hut in the mountain fields—are they the tears of the rice-bearing bird?

Kokin Wakashu - Mibu no Tadamine

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Ho ni mo idenu yamada o moru to fujigoromo
inaba no tsuyu ni nurenu hi zo naki

Though the ears have not yet appeared, I guard the mountain fields—there is not a day my humble robe is not soaked with dew upon the rice leaves.

Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet

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Kareru ta ni ouru hitsuji no ho ni idenu wa
yo o imasara ni akihatenu to ka

In the harvested fields, the new shoots that grow do not put forth ears—is it that even the world has now grown utterly weary?

Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet

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Momijiba wa sode ni kokiirete mote idenamu
aki wa kagiri to mimu hito no tame

I will gather these crimson leaves into my sleeves and carry them home—for those who believe that autumn has already come to its end.

Kokin Wakashu - Sosei Hoshi

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Miyama yori ochikuru mizu no iro mite zo
aki wa kagiri to omoi shirinuru

Seeing the color of the water that falls from the deep mountains, I have come to realize that autumn has reached its end.

Kokin Wakashu - Fujiwara no Okikaze

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Toshi goto ni momijiba nagasu Tatsutagawa
minato ya aki no tomari naruramu

Year after year, the Tatsuta River carries away crimson leaves—perhaps its harbor is where autumn finally comes to rest.

Kokin Wakashu - Ki no Tsurayuki

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Yūzukuyo Ogura no yama ni naku shika no
koe no uchi ni ya aki wa kururamu

In the evening moonlight, as a deer cries on Mount Ogura, perhaps within that voice autumn is coming to its end.

Kokin Wakashu - Ki no Tsurayuki

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