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- Gosen Wakashu
Au koto no yoyo o hedatsuru kuretake no fushi no kazu naki koi mo suru kana
As the joints of the kuretake bamboo keep each section apart, so our meeting is held off age after age—and so I bear a love as countless as the bamboo's nodes.
Gosen Wakashu - Fujiwara no Kiyotada
Ima wa chō kokoro Tsukuba no yama mireba kozue yori koso iro kawarikere
When I look at Mount Tsukuba, where hearts give out with "It is over now," I see the colors changing first at the tips of the branches.
Gosen Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Kaeriken sora mo shirarezu Obasute no yama yori ideshi tsuki o mishi ma ni
I cannot tell how I ever made my way home, nor under what sky—while I was gazing at the moon that rose from Mount Obasute.
Gosen Wakashu - Minamoto no Shigemitsu
Furitokenu kimi ga yukige no shizuku yue tamoto ni tokenu kōri shinikeri
Because of the drops from your visits, cold as snow that falls and never melts, my sleeves have frozen into ice that will not thaw.
Gosen Wakashu - Mother of Kiyotada
Katatoki mo mineba koishiki kimi o okite ayashi ya ikuyo hoka ni nenuran
Leaving you, whom I miss if I do not see you for even a moment—how strange it is—how many nights must I spend sleeping elsewhere?
Gosen Wakashu - Fujiwara no Arifumi
Omoiyaru kokoro ni taguu mi nari seba hitohi ni chitabi kimi wa mitemashi
If only my body could go along with the heart that flies out to you, I would see you a thousand times a day.
Gosen Wakashu - Ōe no Chifuru
Au koto wa tōyamadori no karigoromo kite wa kai naki ne o nomi zo naku
Our meeting is as far off as the mountain pheasant printed on this hunting robe—whether I wear it or come to you, it is no use, and I can only cry aloud.
Gosen Wakashu - Prince Motoyoshi
Fukaku nomi omou kokoro wa ashi no ne no wakete mo hito ni awan to zo omou
My heart, which loves you ever more deeply, would push through like the deep roots of the reeds—above all else, I mean to meet you.
Gosen Wakashu - Prince Atsuyoshi
Isaribi no yoru wa honoka ni kakushitsutsu arieba koi no shita ni kenu beshi
Like the fishing fires that glimmer faintly in the night, if I go on hiding my love, I shall surely be consumed beneath its flame and vanish unseen.
Gosen Wakashu - Fujiwara no Tadakuni
Tachiyoraba kage fumu bakari chikakeredo tare ka Nakoso no seki o sueken
If I came close, I am near enough to tread upon your shadow—who, then, set up this barrier of Nakoso, whose very name says "Do not come"?
Gosen Wakashu - Lady Kohachijō
Waga sode wa na ni tatsu Sue no Matsuyama ka sora yori nami no koenu hi wa nashi
Are my sleeves the famed Pine Hill of Sue? Not a day goes by that waves do not come down from the sky and pass over them.
Gosen Wakashu - Tosa
Hitorine no wabishiki mama ni okiitsutsu tsuki o aware to imi zo kanetsuru
In the loneliness of sleeping alone, I sit up awake, and cannot keep myself from feeling the moon's sad beauty, though it is said to be ill-omened.
Gosen Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Karanishiki oshiki waga na wa tachihatete ika ni seyo to ka ima wa tsurenaki
As one cuts through precious brocade, my good name, so dear to me, is ruined by rumor—what do you want me to do, that you grow cold now?
Gosen Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Hitozute ni iu koto no ha no uchi yori zo omoi Tsukuba no yama wa miekeru
Even through words passed on by others, I came to see Mount Tsukuba—where my heart first fastened upon you.
Gosen Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Tayori ni mo aranu omoi no ayashiki wa kokoro o hito ni tsukuru narikeri
What is strange about a love that arises from no occasion at all is that it fastens my heart upon you.
Gosen Wakashu - Ki no Tsurayuki
Hitozuma ni kokoro ayanaku kakehashi no ayauki michi wa koi ni zo arikeru
Without reason I have set my heart on another man's wife—that perilous path, like a bridge hung over a cliff, I now see, is love.
Gosen Wakashu - Unknown Poet