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- Manyoshu
Yuki kakuru tomo no o hiroki ōtomo ni kuni sakaemu to tsuki wa teru rashi
Among the Ōtomo, rich in warriors bearing quivers on their backs, the moon seems to shine so that the land may prosper.
Anashigawa kawanami tachinu makimuku no yutsukigatake ni kumoi tateru rashi
Waves have risen on the Anashi River—the clouds must be towering over Yutsuki Peak in Makimuku.
Ashihiki no yamagawa no se no naru nae ni yutsukigatake ni kumo tachiwataru
As the shallows of the mountain stream roar ever louder, clouds rise and spread across all of Yutsuki Peak.
Ōumi ni shima mo aranaku ni unabara no tayutau nami ni tateru shirakumo
Though there is no island anywhere on the great ocean, over the swaying waves of the wide sea a white cloud stands.
Wagimoko ga akamo no suso no hizuchinamu kyō no kosame ni ware sae nurena
The hem of my beloved's crimson skirt must be soaked by now—in today's gentle rain, let me be drenched along with her.
Tōrubeku ame wa na furi so wagimoko ga katami no koromo are shita ni keri
Rain, do not fall so hard that you soak right through—for beneath my clothes I wear the robe my beloved gave me to remember her by.
Narukami no oto nomi kikishi makimuku no hibara no yama o kyō mitsuru kamo
Only by report had I heard of the cypress-clad hills of Makimuku, as one hears the roar of thunder—and today at last I have seen them.
Mimoro no sono yamanami ni kora ga te o makimukuyama wa tsugi shi yoroshi mo
How fine it is that Mount Makimuku—named as though for pillowing on a maiden's arm—runs on in one line with the hills of sacred Mimoro.
Aga koromo irodori somemu umasake mimuro no yama wa momichi shinikeri
I will dye my robe in borrowed colors—for the hills of sacred Mimuro have turned bright with autumn leaves.
Mimoro tsuku miwayama mireba komoriku no hatsuse no hibara omōyuru kamo
When I look on Mount Miwa, where the god is enshrined, my thoughts turn of themselves to the cypress forests of Hatsuse among the hidden hills.
Inishie no koto wa shiranu o ware mite mo hisashiku narinu ame no kaguyama
I know nothing of the ancient past, yet even since I first looked upon you, how long it has been—Mount Kagu of heaven.
Waga seko o kochi kose yama to hito wa iedo kimi mo kimasazu yama no na ni arashi
People call it Mount Kose, "bring him here," as if it would bring my beloved to me—yet he does not come. It seems it is only the mountain's name.
Kiji ni koso imoyama ari to ie tamakushige futakamiyama mo imo koso arikere
They say there is Mount Imo, the "sister mountain," on the road to Kii—but twin-peaked Mount Futakami has its sister too.
Kataoka no kono mukatsuo ni shii makaba kotoshi no natsu no kage ni naramu ka
If I sowed chinquapin nuts on this ridge facing me at Kataoka, would they grow into shade by this summer?
Makimuku no anashi no kawa yu yuku mizu no tayuru koto naku mata kaerimimu
Like the water flowing down the Anashi River at Makimuku, never ceasing, so will I come back again and again to see this place.
Nubatama no yoru sarikureba makimuku no kawato takashi mo arashi kamo toki
When the jet-black night comes on, how loudly the Makimuku River roars—can it be that the mountain storm is blowing hard?