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- Manyoshu
Okuyama no iwakage ni ouru suga no ne no nemokoro ware mo aiomowazare ya
Like the roots of sedge growing deep in the shadow of rocks in the mountains, how could I not love you earnestly in return?
Manyoshu - Fujiwara no Kusumaro
Harusame o matsu to ni shi arashi waga yado no wakagi no ume mo imada fufumeri
It seems to be waiting for the spring rain; in my garden too, the young plum tree still keeps its buds tightly closed.
Manyoshu - Fujiwara no Kusumaro
Yo no naka wa munashiki mono to shiru toki shi iyoyo masumasu kanashikari keri
When I come to know that this world is empty and vain, my sorrow only grows deeper and deeper.
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Tabito
Ie ni yukite ika ni ka a ga semu makurazuku tsumaya sabushiku omōyu beshi mo
When I go home, what am I to do? The room where we laid our pillows side by side will surely feel so lonely.
Manyoshu - Yamanoue no Okura
Hashiki yoshi kaku nomi kara ni shitaikoshi imo ga kokoro no sube mo subenasa
Ah, my dear one. It was only to end like this, yet she followed me all this way out of love; when I think of her heart, I am utterly helpless.
Manyoshu - Yamanoue no Okura
Kuyashi kamo kaku shiramaseba aoniyoshi kunuchi kotogoto misemashi mono o
How I regret it! Had I known this would happen, I would have shown her every corner of the land.
Manyoshu - Yamanoue no Okura
Imo ga mishi ōchi no hana wa chirinu beshi wa ga naku namida imada hinaku ni
The chinaberry blossoms my wife once gazed on must soon scatter, though the tears I weep have not yet dried.
Manyoshu - Yamanoue no Okura
Ōnoyama kiri tachiwataru wa ga nageku okiso no kaze ni kiri tachiwataru
Over Mount Ōno the mist spreads everywhere; born on the wind of my grieving sighs, the mist spreads everywhere.
Manyoshu - Yamanoue no Okura
Hisakata no amaji wa tōshi naonao ni ie ni kaerite nari o shimasa ni
The road to heaven is far away. Go meekly back home and devote yourself to your work.
Manyoshu - Yamanoue no Okura
Shirokane mo kugane mo tama mo nani semu ni masareru takara ko ni shikame ya mo
Silver, gold, and jewels, what good are they? What treasure, however fine, could ever compare with a child?
Manyoshu - Yamanoue no Okura
Tokiwa nasu kaku shi mo ga mo to omoedomo yo no koto nareba todomi kanetsu mo
I wish I could stay as I am forever, like an unchanging rock, but it is the way of the world, and I cannot hold time back.
Manyoshu - Yamanoue no Okura
Tatsu no ma mo ima mo eteshika aoniyoshi nara no miyako ni yukite komu tame
If only I had a dragon horse right now, so that I could go to the capital at Nara and come back again.
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Tabito
Utsutsu ni wa au yoshi mo nashi nubatama no yoru no ime ni o tsugite miekoso
In waking life there is no way for us to meet; at least in my dreams at night, please keep appearing to me.
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Tabito
Tatsu no ma o are wa motomemu aoniyoshi nara no miyako ni komu hito no tani
I will go looking for a dragon horse myself, for you who are to come to the capital at Nara.
Tada ni awazu araku mo ōku shikitae no makura sarazute ime ni shi miemu
So many days have passed without our meeting face to face; I will not leave your pillow, but will surely come to you in your dreams.
Ika ni aramu hi no toki ni kamo koe shiramu hito no hiza no e wa ga makurakamu
On what day, at what hour, will I rest my head on the knee of someone who truly understands my voice?
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Tabito