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- Shika Wakashu
Miyamagi no sono kozue tomo miezarishi sakura wa hana ni arawarenikeri
Among the trees of the deep mountains, I could not tell which treetops were the cherry's; now, by its blossoms, the cherry has revealed itself.
Shika Wakashu - Minamoto no Yorimasa
Kurenai no usuhanazakura niowazu wa mina shirakumo to mite ya sugimashi
If the faint crimson of the pale-blossomed cherry had not glowed, would I have taken it all for white clouds and simply passed it by?
Shirakumo wa tachihedatsuredo kurenai no usuhanazakura kokoro ni zo somu
Though white clouds rise and come between us, the faint crimson of the pale-blossomed cherry has sunk deep into my heart and dyed it.
Shirakumo wa samo tataba tate kurenai no ima hitoshio o kimi shi somureba
Let the white clouds rise if they will; for you have dyed the crimson one dip deeper still.
Asamadaki kasumi na kome so yamazakura tazuneyuku ma no yosome ni mo mimu
Mist, do not shroud the mountain cherries in the early dawn; even on my way to seek them, I want to see them from afar.
Shika Wakashu - The Lady Kii of Princess Yushi's Household
Shirakumo to miyuru ni shirushi Miyoshino no Yoshino no yama no hanazakari kamo
Seeing them like white clouds, I know it plainly: the mountains of fair Yoshino must be in full bloom.
Shika Wakashu - Oe no Masafusa
Yamazakura oshimu ni tomaru mono naraba hana wa haru tomo kagirazaramashi
If the mountain cherries would stay simply because we mourn their passing, the blossoms would not be limited to spring alone.
Shika Wakashu - Fujiwara no Kinzane
Kokonoe ni tatsu shirakumo to mietsuru wa Ōuchiyama no sakura narikeri
What seemed to be white clouds rising within the palace grounds were, after all, the cherry blossoms of the Great Inner Hill.
Harugoto ni kokoro o sora ni nasu mono wa kumoi ni miyuru sakura narikeri
What sets my heart wandering in the sky each spring, I see now, is the cherry blooming high among the clouds.
Shirakawa no haru no kozue o miwataseba matsu koso hana no taema narikere
Looking out over the spring treetops of Shirakawa, I find that only the pines make gaps in the sea of blossoms.
Shika Wakashu - Minamoto no Toshiyori
Haru kureba hana no kozue ni sasowarete itaranu sato no nakaritsuru kana
Whenever spring came, lured on by the flowering treetops, there was not a village I failed to visit.
Shika Wakashu - Retired Emperor Shirakawa
Ikemizu no migiwa narazu wa sakurabana kage o mo nami ni oraremashi ya wa
If the cherry did not stand at the very edge of the pond, would even its reflection be broken by the ripples?
Inishie no Nara no miyako no yaezakura kyō kokonoe ni nioinuru kana
The eightfold cherry of Nara, the capital of old, today blooms in radiant color within the ninefold palace.
Shika Wakashu - Ise no Taifu
Furusato ni tou hito araba yamazakura chirinamu nochi o mate to kotae yo
If anyone back home should ask after me, tell them to wait until the mountain cherries have scattered.
Shika Wakashu - Fujiwara no Norinaga
Sakurabana tegoto ni orite kaeru o ba haru no yuku to ya hito wa miruramu
As people head home with sprays of cherry blossom broken off in every hand, do onlookers think that spring itself is leaving?
Harugoto ni miru hana naredo kotoshi yori sakihajimetaru kokochi koso sure
These are flowers I see every spring, and yet I feel as though they had begun to bloom for the very first time this year.
Shika Wakashu - Dōmyō