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- Manyoshu
Yaoka yuku hama no manago mo aga koi ni ani masaraji ka okitsu shimamori
Could all the sands of a shore so long it takes eight hundred days to walk surpass the greatness of my love? Tell me, keeper of the island in the offing.
Manyoshu - Lady Kasa
Utsusemi no hitome o shigemi ishihashi no majikaki kimi ni koiwataru kamo
Because so many eyes are watching in this world, I go on longing for you, though you are as near as one stepping stone to the next.
Manyoshu - Lady Kasa
Koi ni mo zo hito wa shini suru minasegawa shita yu ware yasu tsuki ni hi ni ke ni
People can die even of love; like the Minase River that flows unseen beneath its dry bed, I waste away in secret, more with every month and day.
Manyoshu - Lady Kasa
Asagiri no ō ni aimishi hito yue ni inochi shinubeku koiwataru kamo
For one I met only dimly, as through morning mist, I go on longing as though it would be the death of me.
Manyoshu - Lady Kasa
Ise no umi no iso mo todoro ni yosuru nami kashikoki hito ni koiwataru kamo
Like the waves that thunder on the rocky shores of the sea of Ise, I go on longing for one who fills me with awe.
Manyoshu - Lady Kasa
Kokoro yu mo wa wa omowazuki yamakawa mo hedataranaku ni kaku koimu to wa
Never in my heart did I imagine that, with no mountains or rivers between us, I would come to long for you like this.
Manyoshu - Lady Kasa
Yū sareba monomoi masaru mishi hito no koto tou sugata omokage ni shite
When evening comes my longing deepens, for the image of the one I met, speaking to me, rises before my eyes.
Manyoshu - Lady Kasa
Omou ni shi shini suru mono ni aramaseba chitabi zo ware wa shinikaeramashi
If one could die of longing, I would have died and died again a thousand times over.
Manyoshu - Lady Kasa
Tsurugitachi mi ni torisou to ime ni mitsu nani no saga zo mo kimi ni awamu tame
I dreamed I held a sword close against my body; what can such an omen mean? Is it a sign that I will meet you?
Manyoshu - Lady Kasa
Ametsuchi no kami no kotowari naku wa koso aga omou kimi ni awazu shini seme
Only if the gods of heaven and earth had no justice would I die without ever meeting you, the one I love.
Manyoshu - Lady Kasa
Ware mo omou hito mo na wasure ōnawa ni ura fuku kaze no yamu toki mo nashi
I too think of you, so do not forget me; like the wind that blows ceaselessly over the bay, my longing never stops.
Manyoshu - Lady Kasa
Minahito o neyo to no kane wa utsu naredo kimi o shi omoeba inekatenu kamo
I hear them strike the bell that tells everyone it is time to sleep, yet as I think of you, I cannot sleep at all.
Manyoshu - Lady Kasa
Aiomowanu hito o omou wa ōtera no gaki no shirie ni nukazuku gotoshi
To love one who does not love you in return is like bowing your forehead to the ground behind the back of a hungry ghost's statue in a great temple.
Manyoshu - Lady Kasa
Kokoro yu mo wa wa omowazuki mata sara ni waga furusato ni kaerikomu to wa
Never in my heart did I imagine that I would come back once again to my old home.
Manyoshu - Lady Kasa
Chikaku areba minedomo aru o iya tōku kimi ga imasaba ari katsu mashiji
While you were near, I could bear it even without seeing you; but now that you will be farther away still, I will not be able to go on living.
Manyoshu - Lady Kasa
Imasara ni imo ni awame ya to omoe kamo kokoda aga mune ibuseku aruramu
Is it because I feel I shall never see you again that my heart is so heavy and gloomy?
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi