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- Manyoshu
Koto shigemi kimi wa kimasazu hototogisu nare dani kinake asato hirakamu
Because people's gossip is so thick, you do not come; O cuckoo, at least you come and sing, and I will open my door to the morning.
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Yotsuna
Natsu no no no shigemi ni sakeru himeyuri no shiraenu koi wa kurushiki mono zo
Like the little lily blooming unseen in the thick grass of the summer fields, a love that remains unknown is a painful thing.
Manyoshu - Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Hototogisu naku o no ue no unohana no uki koto are ya kimi ga kimasanu
Like the deutzia on the peak where the cuckoo sings, is there something that troubles you, that you do not come to me?
Manyoshu - Oharida no Hiromimi
Satsuki no hanatachibana o kimi ga tame tama ni koso nuke chiramaku oshimi
For your sake I am threading the fifth-month orange blossoms into beads, because it would be a pity to let them fall.
Manyoshu - Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Wagimoko ga ie no kakitsu no sayuribana yuri to ieru wa ina to iu ni niru
Like the lilies blooming inside the fence of your house, your saying "yuri, later on" is much the same as saying "no."
Manyoshu - Ki no Toyokawa
Itoma nami satsuki o sura ni wagimoko ga hanatachibana o mizu ka suginamu
With no time to spare, must I let even the fifth month pass without seeing the orange blossoms at your house?
Manyoshu - Prince Takayasu
Hototogisu nakishi sunawachi kimi ga ie ni yuke to oishi wa itarikemu kamo
The cuckoo I drove off toward your house the moment it began to sing: has it reached you by now?
Manyoshu - Ōmiwa no Iratsume
Furusato no narashi no oka no hototogisu kototsuge yarishi ika ni tsugeki ya
I sent a message to you by the cuckoo of Narashi Hill in our old home; how did it tell you, I wonder?
Manyoshu - Ōtomo no Tamura no Ōiratsume
Mochigutachi kiyoki tsukuyo ni wagimoko ni misemu to omoishi yado no tachibana
The orange blossoms in my garden, which I had meant to show you on a clear moonlit night just past the full moon.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Imo ga mite nochi mo nakanamu hototogisu hanatachibana o tsuchi ni chirashitsu
If only the cuckoo had waited to sing until you had seen them; it has scattered the orange blossoms on the ground.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Nadeshiko wa sakite chirinu to hito wa iedo waga shimeshi no no hana ni arame ya mo
People say the pinks have bloomed and fallen, but could those be the flowers of the field I marked as mine? Surely not.
Manyoshu - Otomo no Yakamochi
Yū sareba ogura no yama ni naku shika wa koyoi wa nakazu inenikerashi mo
The deer that always cries on Mount Ogura when evening comes does not cry tonight; it seems to have gone to sleep.
Manyoshu - The Okamoto Emperor
Tate mo naku nuki mo sadamezu otomera ga oru momijiba ni shimo na furisone
On the autumn leaves the maidens have woven without warp or weft, O frost, please do not fall.
Manyoshu - Prince Ōtsu
Kesa no asake karigane kikitsu kasugayama momichinikerashi aga kokoro itashi
At dawn this morning I heard the cry of the wild geese; Mount Kasuga must have turned to autumn colors, and my heart aches.
Manyoshu - Prince Hozumi
Akihagi wa sakubeku arashi waga yado no asaji ga hana no chiriyuku mireba
The autumn bush clover seems ready to bloom, for I see the flowers of the low reeds in my garden falling away.
Manyoshu - Prince Hozumi
Koto shigeki sato ni sumazu wa kesa nakishi kari ni taguite yukamashi mono o
Rather than live in a village so thick with gossip, I would have flown away with the wild geese that cried this morning.
Manyoshu - Princess Tajima