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- Manyoshu
Yamanobe no mii o migateri kamukaze no ise otomedomo aimitsuru kamo
While stopping to see the sacred well of Yamanobe, I have had the joy of meeting the maidens of Ise as well.
Manyoshu - Prince Nagata
Urasaburu kokoro samaneshi hisakata no ame no shigure no nagarau mireba
Lonely thoughts crowd in upon my heart as I watch the cold showers streaming endlessly down from the sky.
Manyoshu - Prince Nagata (possibly reciting an older poem)
Wata no soko okitsu shiranami tatsutayama itsu ka koenamu imo ga atari mimu
As the white waves rise far out at sea, so rises Mount Tatsuta—when will I cross it and see the place where my beloved lives?
Manyoshu - Prince Nagata (possibly reciting an older poem)
Aki saraba ima mo miru goto tsumagoi ni ka nakamu yama zo takanohara no ue
When autumn comes, just as we see it now, the stags will cry out, longing for their mates, on these hills—the heights of Takanohara.
Manyoshu - Prince Naga
Kimi ga yuki ke nagaku narinu yama tazune mukae ka yukamu machi ni ka matamu
Many days have passed since you set out on your journey. Shall I search the mountain paths and go out to meet you, or shall I simply keep on waiting?
Manyoshu - Empress Iwa no Hime
Kaku bakari koitsutsu arazu wa takayama no iwane shi makite shinamashi mono o
Rather than go on longing for you like this, I would sooner have laid my head upon the rocks of some high mountain and died.
Manyoshu - Empress Iwa no Hime
Aritsutsu mo kimi o ba matamu uchinabiku waga kurokami ni shimo no oku made ni
I will go on waiting for you just as I am, until frost settles on my long, flowing black hair.
Manyoshu - Empress Iwa no Hime
Aki no ta no ho no e ni kirau asagasumi itsue no kata ni aga koi yamamu
Like the morning haze that hangs over the ripe ears of the autumn fields and will not lift, when will this love of mine ever come to an end?
Manyoshu - Empress Iwa no Hime
Iakashite kimi o ba matamu nubatama no waga kurokami ni shimo wa furu tomo
I will stay up all night and wait for you, even if the frost comes down upon my black hair.
Manyoshu - Empress Iwa no Hime
Kimi ga yuki ke nagaku narinu yamatazu no mukae o yukamu matsu ni wa mataji
Many days have passed since you went away. I will go out to meet you; I will not wait any longer.
Manyoshu - Princess Sotoori
Imo ga ie mo tsugite mimashi o yamato naru ōshima no ne ni ie mo aramashi o
If only I could look upon your house without end! If only I had a house of my own on the peak of Ōshima in Yamato.
Manyoshu - Emperor Tenji
Akiyama no ko no shitagakuri yuku mizu no ware koso masame mioomoi yori wa
Like the water that flows hidden beneath the trees of the autumn hills and swells as it goes, it is my love that runs deeper than yours, my lord.
Manyoshu - Princess Kagami
Tamakushige ou o yasumi akete inaba kimi ga na wa aredo waga na shi oshi mo
Thinking it as easy to hide as closing the lid of a comb box, you would leave after the dawn has broken; your name may not suffer, but I would hate to see my own name spoken of.
Manyoshu - Princess Kagami
Tamakushige mimuro no yama no sanakazura sa nezu wa tsui ni arikatsumashiji
Like the sanakazura vine on Mount Mimuro, if I cannot lie with you, in the end I shall not be able to go on living.
Manyoshu - Fujiwara no Kamatari
Ware wa mo ya yasumiko etari minahito no ekate ni su tō yasumiko etari
I, yes I, have won Yasumiko! The one everyone says no one can win—I have won Yasumiko!
Manyoshu - Fujiwara no Kamatari
Mikomokaru shinanu no mayumi waga hikaba umahito sabite ina to iwamu kamo
If I were to draw you to me, as one draws a fine bow of Shinano, would you put on the airs of a noble lady and say "No"?
Manyoshu - Meditation Master Kume