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- Gosen Wakashu
Fukiizuru nedokoro takaku kikoyu nari hatsuakikaze wa iza te narasaji
The wind that blows from this fan seems to come from a lofty source; this first autumn wind, then, I shall not presume to let my hand grow used to.
Gosen Wakashu - Shōni no Menoto
Kokoro shite mare ni fukitsuru akikaze o yamaoroshi ni wa nasaji to zo omou
This autumn wind that has blown so rarely and with such care—I mean never to let it become a fierce gale sweeping down from the mountains.
Gosen Wakashu - Taifu
Hakanakute taenamu kumo no ito yue ni nani ni ka ōku kakamu to zo omou
Since ours is a frail bond, like a spider's thread sure to break, why should I bother to write you so many letters, to spin so many lines?
Gosen Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Mukashi yori kurama no yama to iikeru wa waga goto hito mo yoru ya koeken
Has this been called Kurama, the Mountain of Darkness, since long ago because others too, like me, crossed it in the night?
Gosen Wakashu - Imaako
Kumoiji no harukeki hodo no soragoto wa ika naru kaze no fukite tsugeken
These empty tales from a place as far away as the paths through the clouds—what wind could have blown them all the way to you?
Gosen Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Amagumo no ukitaru koto to kikishikado nao zo kokoro wa sora ni narinishi
I heard it was an idle tale, drifting like clouds in the heavens, and yet my heart has gone all adrift, lost in the empty sky.
Gosen Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Yareba oshi yaraneba hito ni mienubeshi nakunaku mo nao kaesu masareri
If I tear them up, it is a pity; if I keep them, others are sure to see them. Weeping as I do, it is still better to give them back.
Gosen Wakashu - Prince Motoyoshi
Mochizuki no koma yori osoku idetsureba tadoru tadoru zo yama wa koetsuru
Because I set out later than the horse from Mochizuki, I crossed the mountain groping my way step by step.
Gosen Wakashu - Sosei Hoshi
Yorozuyo o chigirishi koto no itazura ni hitowarae ni mo narinubeki kana
The vow we made to last ten thousand ages will come to nothing, and I fear I shall soon become a laughingstock.
Gosen Wakashu - Fujiwara no Atsutoshi
Kakete ieba yuyushiki mono o yorozuyo to chigirishi koto ya kanawazarubeki
Even to say such a thing aloud is ill-omened. Could the vow we made for ten thousand ages fail to come true?
Gosen Wakashu - Taifu
Chiru to mite sode ni ukuredo tamaranu wa aretaru nami no hana ni zo arikeru
Taking them for falling blossoms, I caught them on my sleeve, yet they would not stay: they were only the flowers of the raging waves.
Gosen Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Tachisawagu namima o wakete kazukiteshi oki no mokuzu o itsu ka wasuren
You parted the tossing waves and dove deep to bring up this seaweed from the offing for me—when could I ever forget it?
Gosen Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Kazukiideshi oki no mokuzu o wasurezu wa soko no mirume o ware ni karaseyo
If you will not forget the seaweed I dove for and brought up from the offing, then let me gather the miru weed from the sea floor—let me have the chance to see you.
Gosen Wakashu - Sukeomi
Kagiri naku omou kokoro wa tsukubane no konomo ya ikaga aramu to suramu
My boundless love for you rises as high as Mount Tsukuba, but this near face—this skirt I have sewn—how will it turn out, I wonder?
Gosen Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Omoiidete tou koto no ha o tare mimashi mi no shirakumo to narinamashikaba
Who would have read these words of inquiry, sent when at last you remembered me, if I had already become a white cloud in the sky?
Gosen Wakashu - Unknown Poet
Wasurenamu to omou kokoro no tsuku kara ni koto no ha sae ya ieba yuyushiki
Since your heart has now turned toward forgetting me, is it that even a single word, once spoken, seems to you ill-omened?
Gosen Wakashu - Unknown Poet