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- Manyoshu
Mononofu no omi no otoko wa ōkimi no make no manimani kiku to iu mono zo
A man who serves at court, they say, must follow wherever our sovereign's appointment sends him.
Ame furazu tonogumoru yo no nurunuru to koitsutsu oriki kimi machigateri
Like a night overcast though no rain falls, I kept on longing for you in a damp, heavy mood, waiting all the while for you to come.
Manyoshu - Abe no Hironiwa
Ou no umi no kawara no chidori na ga nakeba waga Sahogawa no omooyuraku ni
Plovers on the riverbank by the sea of Ou, when you cry, my own Saho River back home rises in my mind.
Manyoshu - Prince Kadobe
Takakura no Mikasa no yama ni naku tori no yameba tsugaruru koi mo suru kamo
Like the cries of the birds on Mount Mikasa, which break off only to begin again, such is the love that I now feel.
Manyoshu - Yamabe no Akahito
Ame furaba kimu to omoeru Kasa no yama hito ni na kise so nure wa hitsu tomo
Mount Kasa, which I mean to wear like a hat if it rains—do not let anyone else wear it, even if I am drenched to the bone.
Manyoshu - Isonokami no Otomaro
Yoshino naru Natsumi no kawa no kawayodo ni kamo zo nakunaru yamakage ni shite
In Yoshino, in a still pool of the Natsumi River, I hear the wild ducks calling from the mountain's shade.
Manyoshu - Prince Yuhara
Akizuha no sode furu imo o tamakushige oku ni omou o mitamae aga kimi
The girl waving sleeves as sheer as dragonfly wings, whom I hold dear deep in my heart—please look upon her, my lord.
Manyoshu - Prince Yuhara
Aoyama no mine no shirakumo asa ni ke ni tsune ni miredomo mezurashi aga kimi
Like the white clouds on the peaks of the green mountains, though I see you every morning and every day, you are ever fresh and dear to me, my lord.
Manyoshu - Prince Yuhara
Inishie no furuki tsutsumi wa toshi fukami ike no nagisa ni mikusa oinikeri
The old embankment from long ago has aged so many years that water weeds now grow thick along the edge of the pond.
Manyoshu - Yamabe no Akahito
Yūdatami te ni torimochite kaku dani mo are wa koinamu kimi ni awaji kamo
Taking the folded mulberry cloth in my hands, at least like this I will pray to the gods—and still, shall I not meet you?
Manyoshu - Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Ie mou to kokoro susumu na kazamamori yoku shite imase arashi sono michi
Don't let your heart hurry you on for thoughts of home; watch the winds carefully and go safely—for that road across the sea is rough.
Manyoshu - Kojima
Tsukubane o yoso nomi mitsutsu arikanete yukige no michi o nazumi keru kamo
Unable to bear only gazing from afar at Mount Tsukuba, I have toiled up here along the muddy road of melting snow.
Manyoshu - Tajihi no Kunihito
Waga yado ni karaai maki ooshi karenuredo korizute mata mo makamu to zo omou
I sowed coxcomb in my garden and raised it, but it withered—yet undeterred, I mean to sow it once again.
Manyoshu - Yamabe no Akahito
Arare furi Kishimi ga take o sagashimi to kusa torikanawa imo ga te o toru
The peak of Kishimi is so steep that, failing to catch hold of the grass, I take my darling's hand instead.
Kono yūbe tsumi no saeda no nagarekoba yana wa utazute torazu ka mo aramu
If a branch of tsumi should come floating down this evening, having set no fish weir, would I let it pass by uncaught?
Inishie ni yana utsu hito no nakariseba koko ni mo aramashi tsumi no e wa mo
Had there been no one long ago to set a fish weir, the tsumi branch would still be here with us—ah, that tsumi branch!
Manyoshu - Wakamiya no Ayumaro