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- Kokin Wakashu
Miru hito mo naki yamazato no sakurabana
hoka no chirinamu nochi zo sakamashi
As for the cherry blossoms of a mountain village where there is no one to see them, I wish they would bloom only after the other blossoms have fallen.
Kokin Wakashu - Ise
Harugasumi tanabiku yama no sakurabana
utsurowamu to ya iro kawariyuku
On mountains where spring haze drifts, the cherry blossoms change their color little by little—does this mean they will soon fall?
Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Nokori naku chiru zo medetaki sakurabana
arite yo no naka hate no ukereba
How admirable it is— cherry blossoms that fall all away; for in this world, if things were to remain, their end would turn unpleasant.
Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Kono sato ni tabine shinubeshi sakurabana
chiri no magai ni ieji wasurete
In this village, I feel I may end up spending the night on my journey, as I lose my way amid the scattering cherry blossoms and forget the road home.
Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Utsusemi no yo ni mo nitaru ka hanazakura
saku to mishi ma ni katsu chirinikeri
Cherry blossoms in bloom seem much like this fleeting world. Just as I watched them begin to flower, they had already scattered and were gone.
Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Sakurabana chiraba chiranamu chirazu tote
furusatobito no kite mo minaku ni
Cherry blossoms—if you are to fall, then fall. Even if you do not fall, no one from my old home comes to see you.
Kokin Wakashu - Prince Koretaka
Sakura chiru hana no tokoro wa haru nagara
yuki zo furitsutsu kiegate ni suru
Where cherry blossoms are falling, though it is spring, it is as if snow continues to fall and does not easily disappear.
Kokin Wakashu - Sōku Hoshi
Hana chirasu kaze no yadori wa tare ka shiru
ware ni oshie yo yukite uramimu
Who knows where the wind that scatters these blossoms makes its dwelling? If anyone knows, tell me—I will go and reproach it.
Iza sakura ware mo chirinamu hitozakari
arinaba hito ni ukime mienamu
Come, cherry blossoms—let me fall away with you. Once our moment of full bloom has passed, we will show an unseemly sight to others.
Hitome mishi kimi mo ya kuru to sakurabana
kyō wa machimite chiraba chiranamu
The one who came to see you but once—might he return? Cherry blossoms, I will wait and watch for today; if he does not come, then you may fall away.
Tarekomete haru no yukue mo shiranu ma ni
machishi sakura mo utsuroinikeri
Shut up indoors, without even knowing where spring has gone, the cherry blossoms I had so long awaited have already faded away.
Kokin Wakashu - Fujiwara no Yoruka
Eda yori mo ada nari chirinishi hana nareba
ochite mo mizu no awa to koso nare
Since these blossoms fell so fleetingly from their branches, even after falling they seem to become nothing more than foam upon the water.
Kokin Wakashu - Sugano no Takayo
Goto naraba sakazu ya wa aranu sakurabana
miru ware sae ni shizugokoro nashi
If it must be like this, would it not be better if the cherry blossoms did not bloom at all? Even I who watch them cannot keep a calm heart.
Kokin Wakashu - Ki no Tsurayuki
Sakurabana toku chirinu tomo omooezu
hito no kokoro zo kaze mo fukiaenu
Cherry blossoms do not seem to fall so very quickly; it is rather the human heart that changes even before the wind has fully blown.
Kokin Wakashu - Ki no Tsurayuki
Hisakata no hikari nodokeki haru no hi ni
shizugokoro naku hana no chiruramu
In the gentle light of a calm spring day, why do the blossoms fall as though they cannot keep a tranquil heart?
Kokin Wakashu - Ki no Tomonori
Harukaze wa hana no atari o yogite fuke
kokorozukara ya utsurou to mimu
Spring wind, pass by the blossoms and blow elsewhere; then I will see whether they fade of their own accord.
Kokin Wakashu - Fujiwara no Yoshikaze