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- Manyoshu
Uzura naku furinishi sato yu omoedomo nani zo mo imo ni au yoshi mo naki
Though I think of you from this old village where the quails cry, why is there no way for me to meet you?
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Kotodeshi wa ta ga koto ni aru ka oyamada no nawashiromizu no nakayodo ni shite
Whose words were they that first began it all? And now, like the water in a mountain seedbed, it has stalled halfway.
Manyoshu - Ki no Iratsume
Wagimoko ga yado no magaki o mi ni yukaba kedashi kado yori kaeshitemu kamo
If I went to look at the hedge around your house, my dear, would you perhaps send me away at the gate?
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Utsutae ni magaki no sugata mimaku hori yukamu to ie ya kimi o mi ni koso
Do you think I said I would go only because I wanted to see your hedge? No, it is you I want to see.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Itabuki no kuroki no yane wa yama chikashi asu no hi torite mochite maikomu
The mountains are close by, so tomorrow I will fetch some bark-covered logs for your plank-roofed house and bring them to you.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Kuroki tori kaya mo karitsutsu tsukaemedo isoshiki wake to homemu tomo arazu
Though I serve you, fetching logs and cutting thatch, it seems you would never praise me as a hardworking fellow.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Nubatama no kizo wa kaeshitsu koyoi sae ware o kaesu na michi no nagate o
Last night you sent me home; do not send me away tonight as well, after I have come so long a way.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Kaze takaku he ni wa fukedomo imo ga tame sode sae nurete kareru tamamo zo
Though the wind blew hard along the shore, I cut this lovely seaweed for you, my dear, even at the cost of drenching my sleeves.
Manyoshu - Ki no Iratsume
Ototoshi no sakitsu toshi yori kotoshi made kouredo nazo mo imo ni aikataki
From the year before the year before last until this year I have longed for you; why is it still so hard to meet you?
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Utsutsu ni wa sara ni mo e iwazu ime ni dani imo ga tamoto o makinu to shi miba
In waking life I cannot even say it; if only I could see myself, at least in a dream, asleep with my head on your sleeve.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Waga yado no kusa no ue shiroku oku tsuyu no mi mo oshikarazu imo ni awazu areba
Like the dew lying white on the grass of my garden, this fleeting life of mine is nothing to me, since I cannot meet my love.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Haru no ame wa iyashiki furu ni ume no hana imada sakanaku ito wakami kamo
Though the spring rain falls ever more steadily, the plum has not yet bloomed; perhaps the tree is still too young.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Ime no goto omōyuru kamo hashikiyashi kimi ga tsukai no maneku kayoeba
It all seems like a dream to me, my dear, now that your messengers come to me so often.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Urawakami hana sakikataki ume o uete hito no koto shigemi omoi zo waga suru
I have planted a plum tree still too young to bloom, and with people's talk so thick, I am troubled in my mind.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Kokoroguku omōyuru kamo harugasumi tanabiku toki ni koto no kayoeba
My heart feels heavy, now that your words come to me when the spring haze trails across the hills.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Harukaze no oto ni shi idenaba arisarite ima narazu tomo kimi ga manimani
If you speak your wish aloud like the sound of the spring breeze, then in time, even if not now, it shall be as you wish.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi