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- Manyoshu
Asahikage nioeru yama ni teru tsuki no akazaru kimi o yamagoshi ni okite
Like the moon still shining over the mountain aglow in the morning sun, you, whom I could gaze at forever, will now be left beyond the mountains, far from me.
Manyoshu - Toneri no Kine (attributed)
Mikumano no ura no hamayū momoe nasu kokoro wa moedo tada ni awanu kamo
Like the crinum lilies by the bay of Kumano, their leaves wrapped layer upon layer, my heart holds you in a hundred folds of longing, yet we never meet face to face.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Inishie ni arikemu hito mo waga goto ka imo ni koitsutsu inekatezukemu
Did people who lived long ago also, like me, lie awake through the night, unable to sleep for longing for their wives?
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Ima nomi no waza ni wa arazu inishie no hito zo masarite ne ni sae nakishi
Suffering for love is nothing new to our own time; the people of old felt it even more, and wept aloud.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Momoe ni mo kishikanu kamo to omoe kamo kimi ga tsukai no miredo akazu aramu
Is it because I wish them to come a hundred times over, one after another, that I can never tire of seeing the messengers you send?
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Kamukaze no ise no hamaogi orifusete tabine ya suramu araki hamabe ni
Is he sleeping on his journey now, on reeds he has broken and laid down on the beach at Ise, on that wild and desolate shore?
Manyoshu - The Wife of Go no Dan'ochi
Otomera ga sode furu yama no mizukaki no hisashiki toki yu omoiki ware wa
Like the sacred fence on Mount Furu, where the maidens wave their sleeves, standing since ancient days, so from long, long ago I have loved you.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Natsuno yuku oshika no tsuno no tsuka no ma mo imo ga kokoro o wasurete omoe ya
Like the short new antlers of a stag crossing the summer fields, not even for so brief a moment could I think of anything and forget the heart of my beloved.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Tamakinu no saisai shizumi ie no imo ni mono iwazu kinite omoikanetsu mo
When the rustling commotion of departure had died away, I realized I had left without a word to my wife at home, and now my longing is more than I can bear.
Manyoshu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Kimi ga ie ni waga sumisaka no ieji o mo ware wa wasureji inochi shinazu wa
Sumisaka, whose name recalls how I came to live in your house, and the road that led home there, I will never forget as long as I live.
Manyoshu - The Wife of Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Imasara ni nani o ka omowamu uchinabiki kokoro wa kimi ni yorinishi mono o
What is there left to fret about now? Like grasses bending in the wind, my heart has leaned toward you and come to rest with you.
Manyoshu - Abe no Iratsume
Waga seko wa mono na omoi so koto shi araba hi ni mo mizu ni mo ware nakenaku ni
Do not worry, my love; if anything should happen, into fire or into water, am I not there with you?
Manyoshu - Abe no Iratsume
Shikitae no makura yu kukuru namida ni zo ukine o shikeru koi no shigeki ni
My tears streamed through my pillow until I slept as though floating on them, so fierce was my longing.
Manyoshu - The Suruga Uneme
Koromode no wakaru koyoi yu imo mo are mo itaku koimu na au yoshi o nami
From this night when our sleeves part and we separate, you and I will both long for each other bitterly, for we will have no way to meet.
Manyoshu - Novice Mikata
Shirotae no sode tokikaete kaerikomu tsukihi o yomite yukite komashi o
I should have lain with you, our white sleeves loosened and entwined, and counted the months and days until my return before I set out on this journey.
Manyoshu - Tajihi no Kasamaro
Waga seko wa izuku yukuramu okitsumo no nabari no yama o kyō ka koyuramu
Where is my husband traveling now, I wonder? Is he crossing the mountains of Nabari today?
Manyoshu - The Wife of Taima no Maro