# Anthology of Japanese Literature/Waka of the Tokugawa Period

Layout 2
​Waka of the Tokugawa Period
| Hiku koto ni Koe mo oshimanu Hototogisu Kan ni taekane Ware mo oto ni naku | I played the koto— Unbegrudging of its voice A nightingale sang; I could not check my feelings, I too cried with the music. |
Tada Mosui (1629–1706)
| Ura ura to Nodokeki haru no Kokoro yori Nioi idetaru Yamazakura hana | From the deep heart’s core Of the spring serenity, Splendid, resplendent, A perfume has arisen— The mountain cherry blossoms! |
Kamo no Mabuchi (1697–1769)
| Hito mina wa Aki wo oshimari Sono kokoro Sora ni kayoite Shigurekemu kamo | Everybody hates To see the autumn go by. This feeling would seem To be shared by the heavens— See how it is drizzling now! |
| Kaku kite wa Mezurashimi kikedo Kono nami no Yo na yo na hibiku Ama no fuseya wa | I, as a stranger, Listen in wonderment, but What of fishermen By whose huts night after night Echoes the sound of the waves? |
Tayasu Munetake (1715–1771)
| Hachi no ko ni Sumire tampopo Kokimazete Sanze no hotoke ni Tatematsuriten | In my begging bowl Violets and dandelions Are mixed together: These will be my offering To the Buddhas of Three Worlds. |
| Kaze wa kiyoshi Tsuki wa sayakeshi Iza tomo ni Odoriakasan Oi no nagori ni | The wind is fresh, The moon pellucidly bright. Come, then, together We’ll spend the night in dancing, A final fling of old age! |
Ryōkan (1757–1831) Translated by Donald Keene
Mountain Home
| Wa ga yado wo Koko ni mo ga na to Miyakobito Ii no mi iite Sumanu yamazato | Oh to have a home In such a quiet leafy spot, Yearns the city man; Yet he never builds a hut In mountain country. |
Book
| Itsu yori ka Hirakenagara no Mado no fumi Kaze bakari koso Moteasobikere | Open and forgotten Several hours by the window, The book was fingered Only by capricious winds. |
Plum wind
| Ka bakari to Omoishi kaze ni Kesa yori wa Hana mo majirite Okuru umezono | Fragrance alone, I thought, Was the wind’s burden, But petals too Are circling the plum garden. |
​Visitor on a late spring day
| Kurehatsuru Haru no yūbe no Sabishiki ni Kaeraba towanu Hito ya masaramu | It were better not to call Than to leave me in the loneliness Of the late spring afternoon. |
Ōkuma Kotomichi (1798–1868) Translated by Yukuo Uyehara and Marjorie Sinclair
The silver mine
| Akahada no Danshi mureite Aragane no Marogari kudaku Tsuchi uchifurite | Stark naked, the men Stand together in clusters; Swinging great hammers They smash into fragments The lumps of unwrought metal. |
Solitary pleasures
| Tanoshimi wa Kami wo hirogete Toru fude no Omoi no hoka ni Yoku kakeshi toki | It is a pleasure When, spreading out some paper, I take brush in hand And write far more skilfully Than I could have expected. |
| Tanoshimi wa Momohi hineredo Naranu uta no Futo omoshiroku Idekinuru toki | It is a pleasure When, after a hundred days Of twisting my words Without success, suddenly A poem turns out nicely. |
| Tanoshimi wa Asa okiidete Kinō made Nakarishi hana no Sakeru miru toki | It is a pleasure When, rising in the morning I go outside and Find that a flower has bloomed That was not there yesterday. ​ |
| Tanoshimi wa Mare ni uo nite Kora mina ga Umashi umashi to Iite kuu toki | It is a pleasure When, a most infrequent treat, We’ve fish for dinner And my children cry with joy “Yum-yum!” and gobble it down. |
| Tanoshimi wa Sozoro yomiyuku Kaki no naka ni Ware to hitoshiki Hito wo mishi toki | It is a pleasure When, in a book which by chance I am perusing, I come on a character Who is exactly like me. |
| Tanoshimi wa Yo ni tokigataku Suru kaki no Kokoro wo hitori Satorieshi toki | It is a pleasure When, without receiving help, I can understand The meaning of a volume Reputed most difficult. |
| Tanoshimi wa Ebisu yorokobu Yo no naka ni Kōkoku wasurenu Hito wo miru toki | It is a pleasure When, in these days of delight In all things foreign, I come across a man who Does not forget our Empire. |
Tachibana Akemi (1812–1868) Translated by Donald Keene