classic waka stream

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  • Shin Kokin Wakashu

Imo ni koi waka no matsubara miwataseba shiohi no kata ni tazu nakiwataru

Longing for my wife, I gaze across the pine grove of Waka, whose name means "my own"; over the flats laid bare by the ebbing tide, cranes fly past, crying.

Shin Kokin Wakashu - Emperor Shōmu

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Iza kodomo haya hi no moto e ōtomo no mitsu no hamamatsu machikoinuran

Come, my companions, let us hurry home to Japan. The pines on the shore of Mitsu in Ōtomo must be waiting and longing for us.

Shin Kokin Wakashu - Yamanoue no Okura

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Amazakaru hina no nagachi o kogikureba akashi no to yori yamatoshima miyu

Rowing the long sea road home from the remote provinces, far as the heavens, I see through the straits of Akashi the mountains of Yamato rising like an island.

Shin Kokin Wakashu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro

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Sasa no ha wa miyama mo soyo ni midaru nari ware wa imo omou wakare kinureba

The leaves of bamboo grass rustle and toss all across the mountain, yet I think only of my wife, for I have parted from her and come away.

Shin Kokin Wakashu - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro

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Koko ni arite tsukushi ya izuko shirakumo no tanabiku yama no nishi ni aru rashi

Here where I now stand, I wonder where Tsukushi lies. It must be to the west of those mountains where white clouds trail.

Shin Kokin Wakashu - Ōtomo no Tabito

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Asagiri ni nurenishi koromo hosazu shite hitori ya kimi ga yamaji koyuran

With your robe soaked by the morning mist and no time to dry it, are you crossing the mountain road all alone?

Shin Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet

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Shinano naru asama no take ni tatsu keburi ochikochibito no mi ya wa togamene

The smoke rising from the peak of Asama in Shinano: could anyone, near or far, see it and not marvel?

Shin Kokin Wakashu - Ariwara no Narihira

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Suruga naru utsu no yamabe no utsutsu ni mo yume ni mo hito ni awanu nari keri

Here by Mount Utsu in Suruga, whose name echoes "utsutsu," waking life, I meet you neither in waking hours nor even in my dreams.

Shin Kokin Wakashu - Ariwara no Narihira

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Kusamakura yūkaze samuku nari ni keri koromo utsu naru yado ya karamashi

On my journey, the evening wind has grown cold. Shall I ask for lodging at that house where I hear someone beating cloth?

Shin Kokin Wakashu - Ki no Tsurayuki

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Shirakumo no tanabikiwataru ashihiki no yama no kakehashi kyō ya koenan

The plank road clinging to the mountain, where white clouds trail far across the slopes: is today the day I must cross it?

Shin Kokin Wakashu - Ki no Tsurayuki

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Azumaji no saya no nakayama sayaka ni mo mienu kumoi ni yo o ya tsukusan

Like the name of Saya-no-Nakayama on the eastern road, nothing is clear ("sayaka") in the cloud-veiled distance; shall I live out my days somewhere out there?

Shin Kokin Wakashu - Mibu no Tadamine

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Hito o nao uramitsu beshi ya miyakodori ari ya to dani mo tou o kikaneba

Should I resent that person after all? Like the old poem that asked the capital bird, not even the simple question "Are you well?" ever reaches me.

Shin Kokin Wakashu - Princess Kishi

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Mada shiranu furusatobito wa kyō made ni kon to tanomeshi ware o matsuran

Knowing nothing yet, the people back home must still be waiting for me, who promised to return by today.

Shin Kokin Wakashu - Sugawara no Sukeaki

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Shinagadori ina no o yukeba arimayama yūgiri tachinu yado wa nakushite

As I cross the plain of Ina, the evening mist has risen over Mount Arima, and there is no inn to shelter me.

Shin Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet

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Kamikaze no ise no hamaogi orifusete tabine ya suran araki hamabe ni

Breaking down the beach reeds of Ise to make a bed, is he sleeping on his journey out on that wild and windswept shore?

Shin Kokin Wakashu - Unknown Poet

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Furusato no tabine no yume ni mietsuru wa urami ya suran mata to towaneba

The people of my old home appeared in my dream as I slept on the road. Could they resent me, since I have sent them no word again?

Shin Kokin Wakashu - Tachibana no Yoshitoshi

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