- Top
- -
- Gosen Wakashu
Tare to naku oboro ni mieshi tsukikage ni wakeru kokoro o omoishiranan
In the hazy moonlight, where no one could be told apart, I hope you will come to know the heart that singled you out.
Gosen Wakashu - Fujiwara no Kiyotada
Haru o dani matade nakinuru uguisu wa furusu bakari no kokoro narikeri
The warbler that sang and flew off without even waiting for spring—its heart, I now see, held me as no more than an old, forsaken nest.
Gosen Wakashu - Hon'in no Hyōe
Yūsareba waga mi nomi koso kanashikere izure no kata ni makura sadamemu
When evening falls, it is I alone who am filled with sorrow. In which direction should I lay my pillow?
Gosen Wakashu - Daughter of Fujiwara no Kanemochi
Yume ni dani mada mienaku ni koishiki wa itsu ni naraeru kokoro naruran
I have not yet seen you even in a dream, and still I long for you. When, I wonder, did my heart learn such a thing?
Gosen Wakashu - Ariwara no Motokata
Omou chō koto o zo netaku furushikeru kimi ni nomi koso iu bekarikere
To my vexation, I have worn out the words "I love you" long ago. They were words I should have said to you alone.
Gosen Wakashu - Mibu no Tadamine
Ana koishi yukite ya mimashi tsu no kuni no ima mo ari chō ura no hatsushima
Ah, how I long! Should I go and see it—Hatsushima in the bay, which they say is still there in the land of Tsu?
Gosen Wakashu - Priest Kaisen
Tsuki kaete kimi o ba mimu to iishikado hi dani hedatezu koishiki mono o
I said I would see you when the month had changed, and yet, without even a single day between us, I already long for you.
Gosen Wakashu - Ki no Tsurayuki
Ise no umi ni shio yaku ama no fujigoromo naru to wa suredo awanu kimi kana
Like the coarse robes of the fishers who burn salt by the sea of Ise, grown soft with wear, we have become familiar with each other, and yet you will not meet me as a lover.
Gosen Wakashu - Oshikochi no Mitsune
Wata no soko kazukite shiramu kimi ga tame omou kokoro no fukasa kurabe ni
I will dive to the bottom of the sea to find out, so I can measure the depth of my heart's love for you against the depth of the ocean.
Gosen Wakashu - Sakanoue no Koreyuki
Karakoromo kakete tanomanu toki zo naki hito no tsuma to wa omou monokara
As a Chinese robe is hung upon its rack, there is never a moment when I do not hang my hopes on you, though I know you are another woman's husband.
Gosen Wakashu - Ukon
Arakarishi nami no kokoro wa tsurakeredo sukoshi ni yoseshi koe zo koishiki
Your heart, rough as stormy waves, gives me pain, yet I long for your voice, which came toward me just a little.
Gosen Wakashu - Fujiwara no Morimasa
Izukata ni tachikakuretsutsu miyo tote ka omoi kuma naku hito no nariyuku
Where am I supposed to hide and watch from? She grows ever more changed, leaving no shadow to hide in and no shade of kindness toward me.
Gosen Wakashu - Fujiwara no Chikage
Tsuraki o mo uki o mo yoso ni mishikadomo waga mi ni chikaki yo ni koso arikere
I used to look on coldness and sorrow as other people's affairs, but they belonged to a world close to my own life after all.
Gosen Wakashu - Tosa
Fuchi wa se ni narikawaru chō asukagawa watarimite koso shiru bekarikere
Even the Asuka River, where they say deep pools turn into shallows, can only be known by actually crossing it.
Gosen Wakashu - Ariwara no Motokata
Itowaruru mi o urewashimi itsushika to asukagawa o mo tanomu beranari
Grieving that I am disliked, I long for tomorrow to come, and it seems I even place my hopes in the Asuka River, whose name means "tomorrow."
Gosen Wakashu - Ise
Asukagawa sekite todomuru mono naraba fuchise ni naru to nani ka iwasen
If the Asuka River could be dammed and held still, why would I ever let anyone say that its deep pools turn into shallows?
Gosen Wakashu - Fujiwara no Tokihira