- Top
- -
- Manyoshu
Nakanaka ni moda mo aramashi o nani su to ka aimisomekemu togezaramaku ni
I should rather have kept silent; why did we ever begin to meet, when our love could never be fulfilled?
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Mono mou to hito ni mieji to namajii ni tsune ni omoeri ari zo kanetsuru
So that no one would see me brooding, I forced myself always to look unconcerned, but now I can no longer keep it up.
Manyoshu - Princess Yamaguchi
Aiomowanu hito o ya motona shirotae no sode hitsu made ni ne nomi shi naku mo
For one who does not love me in return, why do I weep aloud so helplessly, until my white sleeves are soaked through?
Manyoshu - Princess Yamaguchi
Waga seko wa aiomowazu tomo shikitae no kimi ga makura wa ime ni mie koso
Even if you, my love, do not love me, let me at least see your pillow in my dreams.
Manyoshu - Princess Yamaguchi
Tsurugitachi na no oshikeku mo ware wa nashi kimi ni awazute toshi no henureba
I no longer care about my good name, for years have passed without my meeting you.
Manyoshu - Princess Yamaguchi
Ashie yori michikuru shio no iyamashi ni omoe ka kimi ga wasurekanetsuru
Like the tide that comes flooding in from the reedy shore, rising ever higher, is it because my longing grows that I cannot forget you?
Manyoshu - Princess Yamaguchi
Sayonaka ni tomo yobu chidori mono mou to wabioru toki ni nakitsutsu motona
In the middle of the night a plover calls for its companion, crying on and on for no reason, just when I sit brooding in misery.
Manyoshu - Ōmiwa no Iratsume
Hajime yori nagaku iitsutsu tanomezu wa kakaru omoi ni awamashi mono ka
Had you not promised me from the very beginning that it would last forever and made me trust you, would I ever have known such misery as this?
Manyoshu - Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Aida naku koure ni ka aramu kusamakura tabi naru kimi ga ime ni shi miyuru
Is it because I long for you without a pause that you, away on your journey, appear to me in my dreams?
Manyoshu - The Wife of Saeki no Azumahito
Kusamakura tabi ni hisashiku narinureba na o koso omoe na koi so wagimo
Since my journey has grown long, it is I who think of you; so do not pine for me, my dearest wife.
Manyoshu - Saeki no Azumahito
Matsu no ha ni tsuki wa yutsurinu momichiba no sugure ya kimi ga awanu yo zo ōki
The moon has moved on into the pine needles; has your heart passed away like the scattering autumn leaves, that there are so many nights you do not meet me?
Manyoshu - Prince Ikenobe
Michi ni aite emashishi kara ni furu yuki no kenaba kenu gani kou to iu wagimo
Just from meeting me on the road and smiling, they say, my beloved longs for me so that she might melt away like falling snow.
Manyoshu - Emperor Shōmu
Okie yuki e o yuki ima ya imo ga tame waga sunadoreru mofushi tsukabuna
Going out toward the offing and along the shore, I have caught these for you, my dear: little crucian carp, a fist long, that lay hidden in the waterweeds.
Manyoshu - Prince Takayasu
Kimi ni yori koto no shigeki o furusato no asuka no kawa ni misogi shi ni yuku
Because of you the gossip has grown so thick that I am going to the Asuka River in the old capital to cleanse myself.
Manyoshu - Princess Yashiro
Waga tamoto makamu to omowamu masurao wa ochimizu motome shiraka oinikeri
If you, fine gentleman, hope to lay your head on my sleeve, you had better go and find the water of youth, for white hairs have grown on you.
Shiraka ouru koto wa omowazu ochimizu wa kanimo kakunimo motomete yukamu
I care nothing about white hairs growing on me; but the water of youth, come what may, I will go and seek it.
Manyoshu - Saeki no Akamaro