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- Manyoshu
Ochitagichi nagaruru mizu no iwa ni fure yodomeru yodo ni tsuki no kage miyu
The water plunges and seethes, rushing on until it strikes the rocks, and there, in the still pool where it slows, the light of the moon is reflected.
Sasanami no hirayamakaze no umi fukeba tsuri suru ama no sode kaeru miyu
When the wind from Mount Hira in Sasanami sweeps across the lake, I can see the sleeves of the fishermen flutter as they fish.
Manyoshu - Enjunomoto
Shiranami no hamamatsu no ki no tamukekusa ikuyo made ni ka toshi wa henuramu
The offerings hung on the pine by the shore where the white waves break—through how many ages have the years passed over them?
Manyoshu - Yamanoue no Okura
Mitsukawa no fuchise mo ochizu sade sasu ni koromode nurenu hosu ko wa nashi ni
I set my little net in every pool and shallow of the Mitsu River, and my sleeves got soaked—but there is no girl here to dry them.
Manyoshu - Kasuga no Kurabito Oyu
Adomoite kogiyuku fune wa takashima no ado no minato ni hate ni kemu kamo
That boat whose rowers called to one another as they pulled away—has it reached the harbor of Ado at Takashima and anchored there by now?
Manyoshu - Takechi no Kurohito
Teru tsuki o kumo na kakushi so shimakage ni waga fune hatemu tomari shirazu mo
Clouds, please do not hide the shining moon. I want to moor my boat in the shelter of an island, but I cannot tell where to anchor.
Manyoshu - Kasuga no Kurabito Oyu
Uma namete uchimure koeki kyō mitsuru yoshino no kawa o itsu kaerimimu
Riding side by side, we came over the hills together, and today we saw the Yoshino River. When will I be able to come back and see it again?
Manyoshu - Gennin
Kurushiku mo kureyuku hi kamo yoshinogawa kiyoki kawara o miredo akanaku ni
How hard it is that the day is drawing to its close, when I could never tire of gazing at the clear riverbed of the Yoshino.
Manyoshu - Gennin
Yoshinogawa kawanami takami taki no ura o mizu ka narinamu kōshikemaku ni
The waves of the Yoshino River are so high—will I have to leave without seeing the bay of Taki, though I know I will long for it later?
Manyoshu - Gennin
Kawazu naku mutsuta no kawa no kawayagi no nemokoro miredo akanu kawa kamo
Where the river frogs sing, the willows grow by the Mutsuta River. Deep as their roots, I gaze and gaze, and never tire of this river.
Manyoshu - Kinu
Mimaku hori koshiku mo shiruku yoshinogawa oto no sayakesa miru ni tomoshiku
I came wanting to see it, and it was truly worth it: how clear and fresh the sound of the Yoshino River—however long I look, it is never enough.
Manyoshu - Shimatari
Inishie no sakashiki hito no asobikemu yoshino no kawara miredo akanu kamo
The wise men of long ago are said to have taken their pleasure here—the riverbanks of Yoshino, which I never tire of seeing.
Manyoshu - Maro
Naniwagata shiohi ni idete tamamo karu ama otomedomo na ga na norasa ne
You fisher girls out on the tidal flats of Naniwa, gathering seaweed at low tide—won't you tell me your names?
Manyoshu - Tajihi no Mahito
Asari suru hito to o mimase kusamakura tabi yuku hito ni waga na wa noraji
Think of me only as someone who fishes along the shore. To a man merely passing through on his travels, I will not tell my name.
Nagusamete koyoi wa nenamu asu yori wa koi kamo yukamu koyu wakarenaba
Tonight I will comfort my heart and sleep. From tomorrow, once we part from here, must I travel on in longing?
Manyoshu - Lord Ishikawa
Akatoki no ime ni mietsutsu kajishima no iso kosu nami no shikite shi omōyu
You come to me again and again in my dreams at dawn, and like the waves that keep breaking over the rocks of Kajishima, you are ceaselessly in my thoughts.
Manyoshu - Fujiwara no Umakai