Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Japanese poet
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).

For my girl
From the top of the plum tree
The lower branches
Drenched me with dew.

In our room
By our bed
Gazing at your pillow.

Have hidden the paths
On the autumn mountain.
How can I find my girl,
Wandering on ways I do not know?
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Quotes
editKenneth Rexroth's translations
editOne Hundred Poems from the Japanese (1955)
editOne 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
- In the empty mountains
- 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
- In the Autumn mountains
- 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
- Gossip grows like weeds
- 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
- This morning I will not
- 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
- Your hair has turned white
- 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
- A strange old man
- 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
- The colored leaves
- 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
- When I left my girl
- 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
- I sit at home
- 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
- May those who are born after me
- 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
- My girl is waiting for me
- 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
- On the shingle
One Hundred More Poems from the Japanese (1976)
editOne 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
- When I gathered flowers
External links
edit- Encyclopedic article on Kakinomoto no Hitomaro on Wikipedia
- Kakinomoto no Asomi Hitomaro Poems at Poem Hunter