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- Manyoshu
Tōnagaku tsukaemu mono to omoerishi kimi shi masaneba kokorodo mo nashi
I had thought to serve my lord for years to come—now that he is gone, I have no heart left for anything.
Manyoshu - Yo no Myōgun
Midoriko no haitamotoori asayoi ni ne nomi zo waga naku kimi nashi ni shite
Like an infant crawling about, morning and evening I do nothing but cry aloud, now that my lord is gone.
Manyoshu - Yo no Myōgun
Miredo akazu imashishi kimi ga momichiba no utsuri iyukeba kanashiku mo aru ka
My lord, whom I could never tire of seeing, has passed away like the scattering autumn leaves—how sad it is!
Manyoshu - Agatainukai no Hitokami
Todomeenu inochi ni shi areba shikitae no ie yu wa idete kumogakuriniki
Since hers was a life that could not be held back, she left the house where she had lived and vanished behind the clouds.
Manyoshu - Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Ima yori wa akikaze samuku fukinamu o ika ni ka hitori nagaki yo o nemu
From now on the autumn wind will blow cold—how shall I sleep alone through the long nights?
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Nagaki yo o hitori ya nemu to kimi ga ieba suginishi hito no omooyuraku ni
When you say, "Must I sleep alone through the long nights?" I too find myself thinking of the one who has passed away.
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Fumimochi
Aki saraba mitsutsu shinoe to imo ga ueshi yado no nadeshiko sakinikeru kamo
"When autumn comes, look at these and remember me," my wife said as she planted the pinks in the garden—and now they have bloomed.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Utsusemi no yo wa tsune nashi to shiru mono o akikaze samumi shinoitsuru kamo
I know that this world is fleeting—and yet, because the autumn wind blows cold, I cannot help longing for her.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Toki wa shimo itsu mo aramu o kokoroitaku iyuku wagimo ka midoriko o okite
There would surely have been another time—yet, to my heart's pain, you go away, my love, leaving our little child behind.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Idete yuku michi shiramaseba arakajime imo o todomemu seki mo okamashi o
Had I known the road by which she would leave, I would have set up a barrier beforehand to keep her from going.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Imo ga mishi yado ni hana saki toki wa henu waga naku namida imada hinaku ni
In the garden my wife once looked upon, the flowers have bloomed and the season has passed—yet the tears I weep have not yet dried.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Kaku nomi ni arikeru mono o imo mo are mo chitose no gotoku tanomitarikeri
Though it was only ever to end like this, my wife and I trusted in each other as though we would last a thousand years.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Iezakari imasu wagimo o todomekane yamagakushitsure kokorodo mo nashi
I could not hold back my wife as she left our home, and I have hidden her away in the hills—now I have no heart for anything.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Yo no naka shi tsune kaku nomi to katsu shiredo itaki kokoro wa shinobikanetsu mo
I know that the world is always like this—and yet I cannot bear the pain in my heart.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Sahoyama ni tanabiku kasumi miru goto ni imo o omoide nakanu hi wa nashi
Every time I see the mist trailing over Mount Saho, I remember my wife, and not a day passes without tears.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Mukashi koso yoso ni mo mishika wagimoko ga okutsuki to omoeba hashiki Sahoyama
In the past I looked on it as nothing to me—but now that I know it is my wife's resting place, how dear Mount Saho has become!
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi