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- Kokin Wakashu
Furihaete iza furusato no hana mimu to koshi o nioi zo utsuroinikeru
I made a special journey, saying, "Come, let us see the blossoms of the old village"—but when I arrived, their bloom had already faded.
Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Waga yado no hana fumishidaku tori utamu no wa nakereba ya koko ni shimo kuru
I'll strike those birds that trample the flowers of my garden! Is it because the fields have none that they come here, of all places?
Kokin Wakashu - Ki no Tomonori
Ari to mite tanomu zo kataki utsusemi no yo oba nashi to ya omoinashitemu
It is hard to trust in this world as something that truly exists. Shall I rather make up my mind that this empty, cicada-shell world is nothing at all?
Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Uchitsuke ni koshi to ya hana no iro o mimu oku shiratsuyu no somuru bakari o
Will you look at this flower's color and suddenly call it deep? It is only the white dew resting on it that has dyed it so.
Kokin Wakashu - Yatabe no Nazane
Hana no ki ni arazarame domo sakinikeri furinishi ko no mi naru toki mogana
Though it may not be a true flowering tree, it has come into bloom. If only there were a time when this aging self of mine, like the fruit of this old wood, might ripen too.
Kokin Wakashu - Fun'ya no Yasuhide
Yama takami tsune ni arashi no fuku sato wa nioi mo aezu hana zo chirikeru
In this village where the mountains are so high that storm winds always blow, the blossoms fall before they have even had time to glow in their full color.
Kokin Wakashu - Ki no Toshisada
Hototogisu mine no kumo ni ya majirinishi ari to wa kikedo miru yoshi mo naki
Has the cuckoo slipped away into the clouds on the peaks? I hear that it is there, yet there is no way for me to see it.
Kokin Wakashu - Taira no Atsuyuki
Utsusemi no kara wa kigoto ni todomuredo tama no yukue o minu zo kanashiki
The cicadas leave their empty shells behind on every tree, yet I cannot see where their souls have gone—and that is what grieves me.
Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Ubatama no yume ni nani ka wa nagusamamu utsutsu ni dani mo akanu kokoro wa
How could a dream in the black night ever console me, when even in waking life this heart of mine is never satisfied?
Kokin Wakashu - Kiyohara no Fukayabu
Hana no iro wa tada hitosakari kokeredomo kaesu gaesu zo tsuyu wa somekeru
The color of the blossoms is deep for only a single season of bloom—yet the dew has dyed them over and over again.
Kokin Wakashu - Takamuko no Toshiharu
Inochi tote tsuyu o tanomu ni katakereba mono wabishira ni naku nobe no mushi
Because it is so hard to rely on the dew as the thread of their lives, the insects of the fields cry out in such lonely, forlorn voices.
Kokin Wakashu - Ariwara no Shigeharu
Sayo fukete nakaba takeyuku hisakata no tsuki fukikaese aki no yamakaze
The night has grown late, and the moon of the distant heavens has passed its height and is sinking—blow it back, O autumn wind from the mountains!
Kokin Wakashu - Prince Kagenori
Keburi tachi moyu tomo mienu kusa no ha o tare ka warabi to nazuke somekemu
No smoke rises from it, and it does not seem to burn at all—so who was it that first named this plant "warabi," a fire of straw?
Kokin Wakashu - The Monk Shinsei
Isasame ni toki matsu ma ni zo hi wa henuru kokorobase oba hito ni mietsutsu
Meaning to wait only a little while for the right moment, I have let the days slip by—all the while showing my heart openly to others.
Kokin Wakashu - Ki no Menoto
Ajikinashi nageki na tsume so uki koto ni ai kurumi oba sutenu monokara
It is all so futile. Do not pack your heart with grief—for even when you meet with sorrows that torment you, you will not throw that suffering self away.
Kokin Wakashu - Hyōe
Nami no oto no kesa kara koto ni kikoyuru wa haru no shirabe ya aratamaru ramu
From this very morning the sound of the waves rings out especially clear, like a koto—has the music been retuned to the key of spring?
Kokin Wakashu - Abe no Kiyoyuki