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- Manyoshu
Nani su to ka tsukai no kitsuru kimi o koso kanimo kakunimo machikate ni sure
Why has a messenger come? It is you yourself, come what may, that I have been waiting for so impatiently.
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Yotsuna
Hatsuhana no chirubeki mono o hitogoto no shigeki ni yorite yodomu koro kamo
A first blossom is surely meant to fall, yet because the gossip is so thick, I have been holding back of late.
Manyoshu - Saeki no Akamaro
Uhae naki mono kamo hito wa shika bakari tōki ieji o kaesaku omoeba
How unkind she is, sending me back along so long a road home without letting me see her.
Manyoshu - Prince Yuhara
Me ni wa mite te ni wa toraenu tsuki no uchi no katsura no gotoki imo o ika ni semu
You are like the laurel tree in the moon, seen by the eye but never grasped by the hand; what am I to do with you?
Manyoshu - Prince Yuhara
Kokodaku mo omoikeme kamo shikitae no makura katasaru ime ni miekoshi
Was it because you thought of me so much that you appeared in my dream as I slept alone on one side of my pillow?
Ie ni shite miredo akanu o kusamakura tabi ni mo tsuma to aru ga tomoshisa
You never tire of seeing her even at home, and yet you have your wife with you on your journey too; how I envy you.
Kusamakura tabi ni wa tsuma wa itaredomo kushige no uchi no tama o koso omoe
True, I have brought my wife along on my journey, but it is the jewel in my comb-box that I think of.
Manyoshu - Prince Yuhara
Aga koromo katami ni matsuru shikitae no makura o sakezu makite sanemase
I give you my robe as a keepsake; keep it by your pillow and wrap yourself in it as you sleep.
Manyoshu - Prince Yuhara
Waga seko ga katami no koromo tsumadoi ni aga mi wa sakeji koto towazu tomo
Your robe, my love, the keepsake you have given me, I will keep close to me as the pledge of your courtship, though it cannot speak to me.
Tada hitoyo hedateshi kara ni aratama no tsuki ka henuru to kokoro madoinu
We were apart for just one night, yet I wondered whether a whole month had passed, and my heart was thrown into confusion.
Manyoshu - Prince Yuhara
Waga seko ga kaku koure koso nubatama no ime ni mietsutsu ineraezukere
It is because you long for me so much that you keep appearing in my dreams in the dark of night, and I cannot sleep.
Hashikeyashi majikaki sato o kumoi ni ya koitsutsu oramu tsuki mo henaku ni
Ah, my dear one, you live in a village close at hand, yet am I to go on longing for you as if you were far off beyond the clouds, though not even a month has passed?
Manyoshu - Prince Yuhara
Tayu to iwaba wabishimi semu to yakitachi no hetsukau koto wa sakiku ya aga kimi
Thinking I would grieve if you spoke of parting, you stay close beside me like a tempered sword at one's side; is that really kind, my lord?
Wagimoko ni koite midareba kurubeki ni kakete yosemu to aga koisomeshi
When I began to love you, I thought that if my heart grew tangled with longing, I would wind it on a reel and gather it in.
Manyoshu - Prince Yuhara
Yo no naka no omina ni shi araba waga wataru anase no kawa o watarikaneme ya
If I were an ordinary woman of the world, would I hesitate to cross the Anase River that lies before me?
Manyoshu - Ki no Iratsume
Ima wa wa wa wabi zo shinikeru iki no o ni omoishi kimi o yurusaku omoeba
Now I have fallen into despair, for I must let go of you, whom I loved with my very life.
Manyoshu - Ki no Iratsume