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- Kokin Wakashu
Suruga naru Tago no uranami tatanu hi wa aredomo kimi o koinu hi wa nashi
There may be days when no waves rise in Tago Bay in Suruga, but there is never a day when I do not long for you.
Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Yūzukuyo sasu ya okabe no matsu no ha no itsu to mo wakanu koi mo suru kana
Like the needles of the pines on the hillside lit by the evening moon, which stay green in every season, I love without knowing any season or pause.
Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Ashihiki no yamashitamizu no kogakurete tagitsu kokoro o seki zo kanetsuru
Like the water hidden under the trees of the mountain, I have kept my love from others' eyes, but I can no longer dam the surging of my heart.
Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Yoshinogawa iwa kiritōshi yuku mizu no oto ni wa tateji koi wa shinu to mo
The waters of the Yoshino River cut through the rocks with a roar, but I will never voice my love aloud, even if I die of it.
Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Tagitsu se no naka ni mo yodo wa ari chō o nado waga koi no fuchise to mo naki
They say that even among rushing rapids there are places where the water lies still; why then does my love have neither pools nor shallows, only a ceaseless torrent?
Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Yama takami shita yuku mizu no shita ni nomi nagarete koimu koi wa shinu to mo
As water flows unseen beneath the trees of the high mountains, so I will go on loving in secret, deep within my heart, even if I die of it.
Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Omoiizuru tokiwa no yama no iwatsutsuji iwaneba koso are koishiki mono o
Whenever I think of you, like the rock azaleas on Mount Tokiwa, I do not speak of it, but oh, how I long for you.
Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Hito shirezu omoeba kurushi kurenai no suetsumuhana no iro ni idenamu
It is painful to love without anyone knowing; like the crimson of the safflower, let my love now show its color openly.
Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Aki no no no obana ni majiri saku hana no iro ni ya koimu au yoshi o nami
Like the flowers blooming among the pampas plumes of the autumn fields, shall I let my love show its color, since I have no means of meeting you?
Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Waga sono no ume no hotsue ni uguisu no ne ni nakinubeki koi mo suru kana
As the warbler sings aloud on the topmost branch of the plum tree in my garden, so I am in a love that could make me cry aloud.
Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Ashihiki no yamahototogisu waga goto ya kimi ni koitsutsu inegate ni suru
O cuckoo of the mountains, are you like me, longing for someone and unable to sleep, as you call through the night?
Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Natsu nareba yado ni fusuburu kayaribi no itsu made waga mi shitamoe o semu
Like the smudge fire smoldering in my house to drive off the mosquitoes, since it is summer, how long must I go on burning with hidden love, smoldering unseen within?
Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Koi seji to Mitarashigawa ni seshi misogi kami wa ukezu zo narinikerashi mo
Vowing to love no more, I performed a rite of purification in the Mitarashi River, but it seems the gods would not accept it.
Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Aware chō koto dani naku wa nani o ka wa koi no midare no tsukaneo ni semu
If there were not even the word "alas," what could I use as a cord to bind together my heart, tangled by love?
Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Omou ni wa shinoburu koto zo makenikeru iro ni wa ideji to omoishi mono o
My will to keep it hidden has lost to the force of my love, though I had resolved never to let it show.
Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Waga koi o hito shirurame ya shikitae no makura nomi koso shiraba shirurame
Could anyone know of my love? No one could. If anything knows of it, it is only my pillow, wet each night with tears.
Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet