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- Manyoshu
Furisakete mikazuki mireba hitome mishi hito no mayobiki omōyuru kamo
When I lift my eyes and gaze at the crescent moon, the arched brows of someone I saw only once come back to my mind.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Kaku shitsutsu asobi nomi koso kusaki sura haru wa sakitsutsu aki wa chiriyuku
Go on like this, making merry and drinking together. Even the grasses and trees, though they bloom in spring, scatter and fall away in autumn.
Manyoshu - Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Mitami ware ikeru shirushi ari ametsuchi no sakayuru toki ni aeraku omoeba
I, one of the sovereign's people, find my life worth living when I think that I have been born into an age when heaven and earth flourish.
Manyoshu - Ama no Inukai no Okamaro
Suminoe no kohama no shijimi ake mo mizu komorite nomi ya koiwatari namu
Like the clams on the beach of Kohama at Suminoe that will not open their shells, must I keep my heart shut away and go on loving in secret?
Mayo no goto kumoi ni miyuru awa no yama kakete kogu fune tomari shirazu mo
Like arching brows, the mountains of Awa appear far off among the clouds; the boat rowing toward them, where will it find its harbor? I cannot tell.
Manyoshu - Prince Fune
Chinumi yori ame zo furikuru shihatsu no ama tsunade hoshitari nure mo aemu kamo
Rain is coming in from the coast of Chinu. The fishermen of Shihatsu have hung out their tow ropes to dry; can those ropes bear a soaking?
Manyoshu - Prince Moribe
Kora shi araba futari kikamu o okitsu su ni nakunaru tazu no akatoki no koe
If only my beloved were here, we would listen together: the voices of the cranes crying on the sandbar out at sea, in the dark before dawn.
Manyoshu - Prince Moribe
Masurao wa mikari ni tatashi otomera wa akamo suso hiku kiyoki hamabi o
The brave men go forth to the royal hunt, while the maidens trail the hems of their scarlet skirts along the pure white beach.
Manyoshu - Yamabe no Akahito
Uma no ayumi osae todomeyo suminoe no kishi no hanyū ni nioite yukamu
Rein in the horses and halt their stride; let us go on our way with our robes dyed in the colored clay of the shore at Suminoe.
Manyoshu - Abe no Toyotsugu
Amaotome tama motomurashi okitsu nami kashikoki umi ni funade seri miyu
The fisher maidens seem to be seeking pearls; I can see that they have rowed out onto the fearsome sea where the offshore waves run high.
Manyoshu - Fujii no Ōnari
Omōezu kimashishi kimi o sahogawa no kawazu kikasezu kaeshitsuru kamo
You came to visit me beyond all expectation, yet I let you go home without hearing the singing frogs of the Saho River.
Manyoshu - Kuratsukuri no Masuhito
Kamuyo yori yoshino no miya ni arigayoi takashiraseru wa yamakawa o yomi
Since the age of the gods, the sovereigns have journeyed again and again to the palace at Yoshino and built it high and splendid, because its mountains and rivers are so fine.
Manyoshu - Yamabe no Akahito
Koto towanu ki sura imo to se to ari to iu o tada hitoriko ni aru ga kurushisa
Even trees, which cannot speak, are said to have sisters and brothers; how bitter it is that I should be an only child.
Manyoshu - Prince Ichihara
Yama no ha ni isayou tsuki no idemu ka to waga matsu kimi ga yo wa kutachitsutsu
Like the moon lingering at the mountain's rim, I wait wondering whether you will appear at last, my friend, while the night wears on and on.
Manyoshu - Imibe no Kuromaro
Tachibana wa mi sae hana sae sono ha sae e ni shimo furedo iya tokoha no ki
The Tachibana tree is splendid in its fruit, its flowers, and its leaves as well; though frost falls on its branches, it is an evergreen, ever more green.
Manyoshu - Emperor Shōmu
Okuyama no maki no ha shinogi furu yuki no furi wa masu tomo tsuchi ni ochime ya mo
Though the snow that falls in the deep mountains, weighing down the leaves of the fine trees, may fall ever thicker, will it ever drop to the ground? Never.
Manyoshu - Tachibana no Naramaro