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- Manyoshu
Utsusemi no inochi o oshimi nami ni nure irago no shima no tamamo kari osu
Because I cling to this fleeting life, I am drenched by the waves as I cut the seaweed of Irago's island to eat.
Manyoshu - Prince Omi
Yoki hito no yoshi to yoku mite yoshi to iishi yoshino yoku miyo yoki hito yoku mi
The worthy people of old looked well at this place, found it good, and called it so—Yoshino. Look well upon Yoshino, all you good people of today; look well!
Manyoshu - Emperor Tenmu
Haru sugite natsu kitaru rashi shirotae no koromo hoshitari ame no kaguyama
Spring has passed, and summer seems to have come—for there on heavenly Mount Kagu, pure white robes are spread out to dry.
Manyoshu - Empress Jito
Sasanami no shiga no karasaki sakiku aredo ōmiyabito no fune machikanetsu
At Sasanami, Cape Karasaki in Shiga remains just as it was, yet however long it waits, the courtiers' boats never come.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Sasanami no shiga no ōwada yodomu tomo mukashi no hito ni mata mo awame ya mo
At Sasanami, even though the waters of Shiga's great bay lie still as if waiting, shall I ever meet the people of the old days again? Never.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Inishie no hito ni ware are ya sasanami no furuki miyako o mireba kanashiki
Am I someone from the days of old? I am not—and yet, when I look upon the old capital at Sasanami, I am filled with sorrow.
Manyoshu - Takechi no Kurohito
Sasanami no kunitsu mikami no urasabite aretaru miyako mireba kanashi mo
At Sasanami the gods of the land have grown desolate at heart, and when I look upon the ruined capital, sorrow overwhelms me.
Manyoshu - Takechi no Kurohito
Shiranami no hamamatsu ga e no tamukegusa ikuyo made ni ka toshi no henu ramu
The offerings tied to the branches of the pines along this shore of white-breaking waves—how many ages of years must have passed over them?
Manyoshu - Prince Kawashima
Kore ya kono yamato ni shite wa aga kouru kiji ni ari to iu na ni ou se no yama
So this is it—the mountain I longed for while still in Yamato, said to stand on the road to Kii: Se Hill, bearing the name that means "husband."
Manyoshu - Princess Ahe
Miredo akanu yoshino no kawa no tokoname no tayuru koto naku mata kaerimimu
Like the ever-smooth rocks of the Yoshino River, which I can gaze on without tiring, I shall return again and again, unceasingly, to see this place.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Yamakawa mo yorite tsukauru kamunagara tagitsu kōchi ni funade sesu kamo
She who is a god herself, whom even the gods of mountain and river draw near to serve—see how she sets out by boat upon the churning waters of the valley!
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Ami no ura ni funanori su ramu otomera ga tamamo no suso ni shio mitsu ramu ka
The young women must be out boating on Ami Bay—is the tide rising now around the hems of their lovely skirts?
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Kushiro tsuku tōshi no saki ni kyō mo ka mo ōmiyabito no tamamo karu ramu
On the cape of Tōshi, are the courtiers once again, even today, gathering the lovely seaweed?
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Shiosai ni irago no shimabe kogu fune ni imo noru ramu ka araki shimami o
With the tide surging and roaring, is my beloved aboard a boat rowing by the island of Irago—out in those rough waters around the isle?
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Waga seko wa izuku yuku ramu okitsu mo no nabari no yama o kyō ka koyu ramu
Where might my husband be traveling now? Is he perhaps crossing the hills of Nabari today?
Manyoshu - Wife of Taima no Mahito Maro
Wagimoko o izami no yama o takami ka mo yamato no mienu kuni tōmi ka mo
Is it because Izami—"come, let me see my wife"—is so high that I cannot see Yamato? Or is it because my homeland lies so far away?
Manyoshu - Isonokami no Maro