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- Manyoshu
Nageki seba hito shirinubemi yamagawa no tagitsu kokoro o sekaete aru kamo
If I were to sigh, people would surely know—so I hold back my heart, which rushes and seethes like a mountain stream.
Migomori ni ikizuki amari hayakawa no se ni wa tatsu tomo hito ni iwame ya mo
Hidden like one beneath the water, gasping beyond bearing—even if I must stand in the shallows of a rushing river, would I ever tell anyone? Never.
Makana mochi yuge no kawara no umoregi no arawaru mashijiki koto ni aranaku ni
Like the buried wood on the riverbank of Yuge—"planed," as with a fine plane—it is not something that can stay hidden forever.
Ōbune ni makaji shijinuki kogidenaba oki wa fukakemu shio wa hinu tomo
If we set out in a great ship with oars set thick along both sides, the open sea will be deep—even though the tide should ebb.
Fushikoe yu yukamashi mono o mamorau ni uchinurasaenu nami yomazu shite
I should have gone by the Fushikoe path—while I stood watching and waiting, I was drenched by the waves, for I had not counted them well.
Iwa sosoki kishi no urami ni yosuru nami he ni kiyoraba ka koto no shigekemu
Like the waves that splash upon the rocks and roll in around the shore's inlet—if you came close beside me, would the gossip grow loud?
Iso no ura ni kiyoru shiranami kaeritsutsu sugikatenaku wa tare ni tayutae
The white waves that roll into the rocky cove turn back and come again, unable to pass on—for whose sake are you wavering so?
Ōmi no umi nami kashikomi to kaze mamori toshi wa ya henamu kogu to wa nashi ni
Fearing the waves of the sea of Ōmi, I keep watching the wind—will the years slip by like this, without my ever rowing out?
Asanagi ni kiyoru shiranami mimaku hori ware wa suredomo kaze koso yosene
I long to see the white waves rolling in on the morning calm—yet it is the wind that will not bring them to me.
Murasaki no nataka no ura no managotsuchi sode nomi furete nezu ka narinamu
On the fine sands of Nataka's shore, famed as the purple dye—must it end with only my sleeve brushing them, never lying down to sleep there?
Toyokuni no kiku no hamabe no managotsuchi manao ni shi araba nani ka nagekamu
Like the fine sand of Kiku's beach in the land of Toyo—if only your heart were true and straight, why should I ever grieve?
Shio miteba irinuru iso no kusa nare ya miraku sukunaku kouraku no ōki
Are you like the weed on the rocky shore that hides whenever the tide comes in? So seldom do I see you, and so much do I long for you.
Okitsunami yosuru ariso no nanoriso wa kokoro no uchi ni tsutsumi to nareri
The nanoriso weed on the rugged shore where the offshore waves break—it has become a barrier deep within my heart.
Murasaki no natakanoura no nanoriso no iso ni nabikamu toki matsu ware o
Like the nanoriso seaweed of Nataka Bay, famed as purple dye, bending toward the rocky shore—so I wait for the time when she will lean toward me.
Ariso kosu nami wa kashikoshi shikasuga ni umi no tamamo no nikuku wa arazute
The waves that break over the rugged shore are frightening—and yet it is not that I hate the lovely seaweed of the sea.
Sasanami no shigatsu no ura no funanori ni norinishi kokoro tsune wasuraezu
As one boards a boat at the shore of Shigatsu in Sasanami, so you have come aboard my heart, and I can never forget you.