- Top
- -
- Manyoshu
Koto towanu ki ni wa ari tomo uruwashiki kimi ga tanare no koto ni shi aru beshi
Though you are only a tree that cannot speak, you will surely become a zither cherished in the hands of a noble lord.
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Tabito
Koto towanu ki ni mo ari tomo wa ga seko ga tanare no mikoto tsuchi ni okame ya mo
Though it is only a tree that cannot speak, how could I ever set down on the ground the zither your own hands have made familiar?
Manyoshu - Fujiwara no Fusasaki
Ametsuchi no tomo ni hisashiku iitsuge to kono kushimitama shikashikerashi mo
It seems these wondrous spirit stones were set here so that their story might be handed down forever, as long as heaven and earth.
Manyoshu - Yamanoue no Okura (attributed)
Mutsuki tachi haru no kitaraba kaku shi koso ume o okitsutsu tanoshiki oeme
When the new year begins and spring arrives, let us welcome the plum blossoms like this and enjoy ourselves to the full.
Manyoshu - Ki no Ohito
Ume no hana ima sakeru goto chirisugizu wagae no sono ni arikosenu kamo
Plum blossoms, just as you bloom now, without scattering and fading, would that you might remain in my garden forever.
Manyoshu - Ono no Oyu
Ume no hana sakitaru sono no aoyagi wa kazura ni subeku nari ni kerazu ya
In this garden where the plums have bloomed, haven't the green willows grown just long enough to be woven into garlands?
Manyoshu - Awata no Hitogami
Haru sareba mazu saku yado no ume no hana hitori mitsutsu ya haruhi kurasamu
The plum that is the first to bloom in this garden when spring comes: shall I spend the long spring day gazing at it all alone?
Manyoshu - Yamanoue no Okura
Yo no naka wa koi shigeshi eya kaku shi araba ume no hana ni mo naramashi mono o
In this world the pangs of love never cease. Oh, if it must be so, I would rather have become a plum blossom.
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Miyori
Ume no hana ima sakari nari omou dochi kazashi ni shite na ima sakari nari
The plum blossoms are at their peak. Friends, let us wear them in our hair, for now they are at their peak.
Manyoshu - Fujii no Ōnari
Aoyagi ume to no hana o orikazashi nomite no nochi wa chirinu tomo yoshi
Let us break off green willow and plum blossoms and wear them in our hair; once we have drunk, they may scatter for all I care.
Manyoshu - The Novice Mansei
Wa ga sono ni ume no hana chiru hisakata no ame yori yuki no nagarekuru kamo
In my garden the plum blossoms are falling. Could it be snow flowing down from the distant heavens?
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Tabito
Ume no hana chiraku wa izuku shikasuga ni kono ki no yama ni yuki wa furitsutsu
Where is it that the plum blossoms are falling? And yet, even so, snow keeps falling on the castle hill.
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Momoyo
Ume no hana chiramaku oshimi wa ga sono no take no hayashi ni uguisu naku mo
Grieving that the plum blossoms will scatter, a warbler sings in the bamboo grove of my garden.
Manyoshu - Ashi no Okishima
Ume no hana sakitaru sono no aoyagi o kazura ni shitsutsu asobi kurasana
In this garden where the plums are in bloom, let us weave the green willows into garlands and spend the whole day at play.
Manyoshu - Haji no Momomura
Uchinabiku haru no yanagi to wa ga yado no ume no hana to o ika ni ka wakamu
The spring willow swaying in the breeze and the plum blossoms in my garden: how could I ever choose between them?
Manyoshu - Fuhito no Ōhara
Haru sareba konure gakurite uguisu zo nakite inu naru ume ga shizue ni
When spring comes, the warbler hidden in the treetops seems to sing as it flits away down to the lower branches of the plum.
Manyoshu - Yamaguchi no Wakamaro