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- Manyoshu
Tamakiharu uchi no ōno ni uma namete asa fumasu ramu sono kusafukano
On the broad plain of Uchi, horses ranged side by side, he must be riding out this very morning across that meadow thick with grass.
Manyoshu - Nakatsu-sumeramikoto
Yamagoshi no kaze o tokijimi nuru yo ochizu ie naru imo o kakete shinoitsu
Because the wind blowing over the mountains never ceased, not a single night went by without my thinking fondly of my wife waiting at home.
Manyoshu - Prince Ikusa
Aki no no no mikusa kari fuki yadoreri shi uji no miyako no kariio shi omōyu
I find myself remembering the makeshift hut at the palace grounds of Uji, where we cut the grasses of the autumn plain, thatched a roof, and lodged for a while.
Manyoshu - Princess Nukata
Nigitatsu ni funanori semu to tsuki mateba shio mo kanainu ima wa kogiide na
At Nigitatsu we waited for the moon to rise so that we might board our ships, and now the tide too has turned in our favor. The time is now—let us row out!
Manyoshu - Princess Nukata
***** ******* waga seko ga itataseri kemu itsukashi ga moto
(The first two lines resist reading and remain undeciphered.) … there, beneath the sacred oak, where my beloved is said to have once stood.
Manyoshu - Princess Nukata
Kimi ga yo mo waga yo mo shiru ya iwashiro no oka no kusane o iza musubite na
The grasses on the hill of Iwashiro hold sway over your life and mine alike—come, let us tie them together and pray for our safe return.
Manyoshu - Nakatsu-sumeramikoto
Waga seko wa kariho tsukurasu kaya naku wa komatsu ga shita no kaya o karasa ne
My dear, as you build our makeshift lodge, if you are short of thatching grass, why not cut the grass that grows beneath the little pines?
Manyoshu - Nakatsu-sumeramikoto
Waga horishi nojima wa misetsu soko fukaki agone no ura no tama zo hiriwanu
I have been shown Nojima, the island I longed to see—yet the jewels lying in the deep waters of Agone Bay I have still not gathered.
Manyoshu - Nakatsu-sumeramikoto
Kaguyama to miminashiyama to aishi toki tachite mi ni koshi inami kunihara
When Mount Kagu and Mount Miminashi fought, a god rose and came to watch—here, on this broad plain of Inami.
Manyoshu - Prince Naka no Ōe
Watatsumi no toyohatakumo ni irihi sashi koyoi no tsukuyo sayakeku ari koso
The setting sun lights the great banner-like clouds trailing over the sea. Tonight, may the moon shine clear and bright.
Manyoshu - Prince Naka no Ōe
Miwayama o shika mo kakusu ka kumo dani mo kokoro ara namo kakusō beshi ya
Must you hide Mount Miwa so completely? If only the clouds, at least, had a heart—how can they keep on hiding it?
Manyoshu - Princess Nukata
Hesokata no hayashi no saki no sanohari no kinu ni tsuku nasu me ni tsuku waga se
Just as the alders growing in the fields at the edge of the Hesokata woods stain a robe and cling to it, so you cling to my eyes, my beloved—I cannot stop seeing you.
Manyoshu - Ido no Ōkimi
Akane sasu murasakino yuki shimeno yuki nomori wa mizu ya kimi ga sode furu
As I walk through the fields of purple gromwell, through the royal preserve closed to all, won't the field guards see you waving your sleeve to me?
Manyoshu - Princess Nukata
Murasaki no nioeru imo o nikuku araba hitozuma yue ni ware koime ya mo
If I hated you, radiant as purple gromwell, would I be longing for you like this—knowing full well you are another man's wife?
Manyoshu - Prince Ōama
Kawa no e no yutsu iwamura ni kusa musazu tsune ni mo gamo na tokootome nite
Just as no grass grows on the sacred rocks by the river, may you stay unchanged forever—always a young maiden.
Manyoshu - Fufuki no Toji
Uchiso o omi no ōkimi ama nare ya irago no shima no tamamo karimasu
Is Prince Omi a fisherman, then? He is not—and yet there he is on the island of Irago, cutting the seaweed.