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- Shin Kokin Wakashu
Umegae ni oritagaetaru hototogisu koe no ayame mo tare ka waku beki
O cuckoo perched on a plum branch, mistaking the season—who could ever tell apart a voice made of iris?
Shin Kokin Wakashu - Sakon
Uchiwatasu ochikatabito ni koto toedo kotaenu kara ni shiruki hana kana
I called out a question to the person far off across the way, but no answer came—and by that very silence, the flower made its name plain.
Shin Kokin Wakashu - Koben
Samidare no sora dani sumeru tsukikage ni namida no ame wa haruru ma mo nashi
In the moonlight, where even the sky of the early summer rains has cleared, the rain of my tears has no moment to clear.
Shin Kokin Wakashu - Akazome Emon
Samidare wa maya no nokiba no amasosoki amari naru made nururu sode kana
In the early summer rains, like the rain dripping from the eaves of a gabled house, my sleeves are soaked beyond all measure.
Shin Kokin Wakashu - Fujiwara no Shunzei
Hitori nuru yado no tokonatsu asana asana namida no tsuyu ni nurenu hi zo naki
At the house where I sleep alone, the pinks of everlasting summer—and my lonely bed—are never a single morning unwet by the dew of my tears.
Shin Kokin Wakashu - Retired Emperor Kazan
Yosoetsutsu miredo tsuyu dani nagusamazu ika ni ka su beki nadeshiko no hana
Though I look at these pinks and liken them to you, my heart is not consoled in the least—what am I to do with these pinks, my cherished child?
Shin Kokin Wakashu - Princess Keishi
Omoi araba koyoi no sora wa toitemashi mieshi ya tsuki no hikari nariken
If you truly had a flame of longing, tonight, under the rainy sky, is when you would come to me—was the light I saw that night only the light of the moon?
Shin Kokin Wakashu - Izumi Shikibu
Omoi areba tsuyu wa tamoto ni magau tomo aki no hajime o tare ni towamashi
Because I am lost in grief, the dew on my sleeves may be indistinguishable from tears—so whom should I ask whether autumn has begun?
Shin Kokin Wakashu - Dainagon of Shichijoin
Sode no ura no nami fukikaesu akikaze ni kumo no ue made suzushikaranan
Like the autumn wind that blows back the waves at the Bay of Sleeves, may this fan bring coolness even to the palace above the clouds.
Shin Kokin Wakashu - Nakatsukasa
Aki ya kuru tsuyu ya magau to omou made aru wa namida no furu ni zo arikeru
Has autumn come? Is it dew I mistake it for?—so I thought, but what wets my sleeves is only my tears falling.
Shin Kokin Wakashu - Ki no Aritsune
Meguriaite mishi ya sore to mo wakanu ma ni kumogakurenishi yowa no tsukikage
We met again at last, but before I could even tell whether it was really you I saw, you vanished like the midnight moon hiding behind the clouds.
Shin Kokin Wakashu - Murasaki Shikibu
Tsukikage no yama no ha wakete kakurenaba somuku ukiyo o ware ya nagamen
If you hide yourself away like the moon passing behind the mountain rim, must I gaze alone upon this sorrowful world that you forsake?
Shin Kokin Wakashu - Retired Emperor Sanjo
Yama no ha o idegate ni suru tsuki matsu to nenu yo no itaku fukenikeru kana
Waiting for the moon so reluctant to rise over the mountain rim, I have lain sleepless, and the night has grown very late.
Shin Kokin Wakashu - Fujiwara no Tametoki
Ukigumo wa tachikakusedomo hima morite sora yuku tsuki no mie mo suru kana
Though drifting clouds rise up to hide it, the moon crossing the sky seeps through a gap and is seen after all.
Shin Kokin Wakashu - Ise no Taifu
Ukigumo ni kakurete to koso omoishika netaku mo tsuki no hima morinikeru
I thought I would hide behind the drifting clouds—how galling that the moon's light slipped out through a gap after all.
Shin Kokin Wakashu - Fujiwara no Masamitsu
Tsuki o nado matare nomi su to omoiken geni yama no ha wa ideukarikeri
Why did I think the moon was only ever waited for? Truly, it is hard to come forth from behind the mountain rim.
Shin Kokin Wakashu - Fujiwara no Norikane