# Kakinomoto no Hitomaro

Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (Japanese: 柿本人麻呂 or 柿本人麿, c. 653–655 – c. 707–710) was a Japanese waka poet and aristocrat of the late Asuka period. He was the most prominent of the poets included in the Man'yōshū. He is ranked as one of the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals. From the Heian period on, he was often called Hito-maru (人丸).

## Quotes
### Kenneth Rexroth's translations
#### One Hundred Poems from the Japanese (1955)

One Hundred Poems from the Japanese (New Directions Publishing, 1955), ISBN 978-0811201810
* Sasa no ha wa Miyama mo saya ni Sayagedomo Ware wa imo omo Wakare kinureba
** In the empty mountains The leaves of the bamboo grass Rustle in the wind. I think of a girl Who is not here.
** XVII, p. 19
* Aki yama ni Otsuro momiji ba Shimashiku wa Na chiri midare so Imo ga atari minu
** In the Autumn mountains The colored leaves are falling. If i could hold them back, I could still see her.
** XVIII, p. 20
* Hito goto wa Natsu no no kusa to Shigeku to mo Imo to ware to shi Tazusawarineba
** Gossip grows like weeds In a summer meadow. My girl and I Sleep arm in arm.
** XIX, p. 21
* Asa ne gami Ware wa kezuraji Utsukushiki Kimi ga ta makura Fureteshi mono wo
** This morning I will not Comb my hair. It has lain Pillowed on the hand of my lover.
** XX, p. 22
* Kurokami no Shira kami made to Musubiteshi Kokoro hitotsu wo Ima takame ya mo
** Your hair has turned white While your heart stayed Knotted against me. I shall never Loosen it now.
** XXI, p. 23
* Masu kagami Soko naru kage ni Mukai ite miru Toki ni koso Shiranu okina ni Au kokochi sure
** A strange old man Stops me, Looking out of my deep mirror.
*** XXII, p. 24
* Aki yama no Momiji wo shigemi Mado inuru Imo wo motomenu Yama ji shirazu mo
** The colored leaves Have hidden the paths On the autumn mountain. How can I find my girl, Wandering on ways I do not know?
** XXIII, p. 25
* Fusuma ji wo Hikite no yama ni Imo wo okite Yama ji wo yukeba Ikeri to mo nashi
** When I left my girl In her grave on Mount Hikite And walked down the mountain path, I felt as though I were dead.
*** XXIV, p. 26
* Ie ni kite Waga ya wo mireba Tama doko no Hoka ni mukikeri Imo ga ko makura
** I sit at home In our room By our bed Gazing at your pillow.
** XXV, p. 27
* Ware yu nochi Umaremu hito wa Waga goteku Koi suru michi ni Ai kosu na yume
** May those who are born after me Never travel such roads of love.
*** XXVI, p. 28
* Kamo yama no Iwane shi makeru Ware wo kamo Shira ni to imo ga Machitsutsu aramu
** My girl is waiting for me And does not know That my body will stay here On the rocks of Mount Kamo.
*** XXVII, p. 29
* Oki tsunami Ki yoru ariso wo Shikitae no Makura to makite Naseru kimi kamo
** On the shingle Beaten by waves He sleeps with his head Amongst the rocks.
*** XXVIII, p. 30

#### One Hundred More Poems from the Japanese (1976)

One Hundred More Poems from the Japanese, trans. Kenneth Rexroth (New Directions Publishing, 1976), ISBN 978-0811206198
* Ito ga tame Hozu e no ume wo Ta oru to wa Shizu e no tsuyu ni Nurenikeru kamo
** When I gathered flowers For my girl From the top of the plum tree The lower branches Drenched me with dew.
** XXII, p. 24

## External links

* Encyclopedic article on Kakinomoto no Hitomaro on Wikipedia
* Kakinomoto no Asomi Hitomaro Poems at Poem Hunter