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- Manyoshu
Onoko ya mo munashiku arubeki yorozuyo ni kataritsugubeki na wa tatezu shite
Should a man end his life in vain, without having made a name to be handed down through ten thousand generations?
Manyoshu - Yamanoue no Okura
Waga seko ga keru kinu usushi sahokaze wa itaku na fuki so ie ni itaru made
The robe my dear boy is wearing is thin. Wind of Saho, do not blow too hard until he reaches home.
Manyoshu - Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Amagomori mikasa no yama o takami kamo tsuki no idekonu yo wa kutachitsutsu
Is it because Mount Mikasa is so high that the moon has not yet risen, though the night keeps wearing on?
Manyoshu - Abe no Mushimaro
Karitaka no takamato yama o takami kamo idekuru tsuki no osoku teruramu
Is it because Mount Takamato is so high that the rising moon is so slow to shine?
Manyoshu - Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Nubatama no yogiri no tachite ōhoshiku tereru tsukuyo no mireba kanashisa
With the night mist rising, the moonlit night shines dim and hazy, and when I look upon it, how sad it is.
Manyoshu - Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Yama no ha no sasara eotoko ama no hara towataru hikari miraku shi yoshi mo
The light of the fair youth Sasara-e, risen over the mountain rim and crossing the strait of the wide plain of heaven, is a joy to look upon.
Manyoshu - Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Kumogakuri yukue o nami to aga kouru tsuki o ya kimi ga mimaku hori suru
The moon I long for, hidden in the clouds so that I cannot tell where it has gone—do you, too, wish to look upon it?
Manyoshu - Ōyake, a young woman of Buzen
Ame ni masu tsukuyomi otoko mai wa semu koyoi no nagasa ioyo tsugi koso
O youthful moon, Tsukuyomi, dwelling in heaven, I will bring you gifts: join the length of this one night to five hundred nights.
Manyoshu - Prince Yuhara
Hashikiyashi machikaki sato no kimi komu to ōnobi ni kamo tsuki no teritaru
Ah, my dear one, you will come from the village nearby—is that why the moon shines out so calmly and so bright?
Manyoshu - Prince Yuhara
Machikateni waga suru tsuki wa imo ga kiru mikasa no yama ni komorite arikeri
The moon I waited for, unable to bear the wait, had been hidden all along behind Mount Mikasa, named for the hats my love wears.
Manyoshu - Fujiwara no Yatsuka
Harukusa wa nochi wa utsurou iwao nasu tokiwa ni imase tōtoki aga kimi
The grasses of spring fade in time. Like a great rock, may you remain unchanging forever, my noble lord.
Manyoshu - Prince Ichihara
Yakitachi no kado uchihanachi masurao no hoku toyomiki ni ware einikeri
Striking the edges of their tempered swords, the men of valor bless the abundant wine, and on that wine I have grown drunk.
Manyoshu - Prince Yuhara
Shigeoka ni kamusabi tachite sakaetaru chiyo matsu no ki no toshi no shiranaku
On the hill of Shigeoka the pine stands hallowed and flourishing; how many years that thousand-age tree has lived, no one can tell.
Manyoshu - Ki no Kahito
Iwabashiri tagichi nagaruru hatsusegawa tayuru koto naku mata mo kite mimu
Racing over the rocks and churning as it flows, the Hatsuse River never ceases; so too, without ceasing, I will come again and again to see it.
Manyoshu - Ki no Kahito
Furusato no asuka wa aredo aoniyoshi nara no asuka o miraku shi yoshi mo
Asuka, the old capital, is fair indeed, but how good it is to look upon the Asuka of Nara, rich in blue-green earth.
Manyoshu - Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Tsuki tachite tada mikazuki no mayone kaki kenagaku koishi kimi ni aeru kamo
The month has just begun, and I scratched my brows, slender as the third-day moon; and now I have met you, whom I have loved and longed for these many days.
Manyoshu - Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue