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- Manyoshu
Hototogisu nakaru kuni ni mo yukiteshika sono naku koe o kikeba kurushi mo
I wish I could go to some land where there are no cuckoos, for hearing their cry is more than I can bear.
Manyoshu - Prince Yuge
Hototogisu koe kiku ono no akikaze ni hagi sakinure ya koe no tomoshiki
In the fields where I used to hear the cuckoo, has the autumn wind brought the bush clover into bloom? For its voice is heard so rarely now.
Manyoshu - Prince Oharida no Hirose
Ashihiki no yamahototogisu na ga nakeba ie naru imo shi tsune ni shinowayu
O mountain cuckoo, whenever you sing, I cannot help thinking always of my wife at home.
Mononofu no iwase no mori no hototogisu ima mo nakanu ka yama no tokage ni
O cuckoo of the grove of Iwase, will you not sing for me now, in the ever-shaded folds of the mountain?
Manyoshu - Tori no Senryō
Koishikeba katami ni semu to waga yado ni ueshi fujinami ima sakinikeri
The wisteria I planted in my garden, meaning it to be a keepsake whenever I longed for you, has now come into bloom.
Manyoshu - Yamabe no Akahito
Hototogisu kinaki toyomosu unohana no tomo ni ya koshi to towamashi mono o
The cuckoo has come, filling the air with its song; I would like to ask it whether it came as a companion of the deutzia flowers.
Manyoshu - Isonokami no Katsuo
Tachibana no hana chiru sato no hototogisu katakoi shitsutsu naku hi shi zo ōki
In the village where the orange blossoms fall, the cuckoo spends many days crying in a love that goes unanswered.
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Tabito
Ima mo kamo ōki no yama ni hototogisu naki toyomuramu ware nakeredomo
Even now, I wonder, is the cuckoo filling Mount Ōki with its song, though I am no longer there?
Manyoshu - Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Nani shi kamo kokodaku kouru hototogisu naku koe kikeba koi koso masare
Why do I long so much for the cuckoo, when hearing its song only makes my longing grow?
Manyoshu - Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Hitori ite monomou yoi ni hototogisu koyu nakiwataru kokoro shi arurashi
On an evening when I sit alone lost in thought, a cuckoo passes over here singing; it seems to have a heart that understands.
Manyoshu - Oharida no Hiromimi
Unohana mo imada sakaneba hototogisu saho no yamabe ni kinaki toyomosu
Though the deutzia has not yet bloomed, the cuckoo has come to the hills of Saho, filling them with its song.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Waga yado no hanatachibana no itsushika mo tama ni nukubeku sono mi narinamu
The orange blossoms in my garden: how soon will they bear fruit fit to be strung as beads?
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Komori nomi oreba ibusemi nagusamu to idetachi kikeba kinaku higurashi
Staying shut indoors had left me gloomy, so I went out to cheer my heart, and as I listened, the evening cicadas came singing.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Waga yado ni tsuki oshiteri hototogisu kokoro are koyoi kinaki toyomose
The moon is shining over all my garden; O cuckoo, if you have any heart, come tonight and fill it with your song.
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Fumimochi
Waga yado no hanatachibana ni hototogisu ima koso nakame tomo ni aeru toki
Come to the orange blossoms in my garden, O cuckoo, and sing now of all times, while I am here with my friends.
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Fumimochi
Minahito no machishi unohana chirinu tomo naku hototogisu ware wasureme ya
Even if the deutzia that everyone waited for should fall, how could I ever forget the cuckoo's song?
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Kiyotsuna