Poems from The Tale of Genji

I sigh at its name, though I have not seen Musashi.
I sigh as if they were mine, those lavender grasses.

— Anonymous, Kokin Rokujō, Zoku Kokka Taikan 34353

These mountain cherries with no one to look upon them:
Might they not bloom when all the others have fallen?

—Ise, Kokin Wakashū 68

Is there no way to make the past the present,
To wind and unwind it like a ball of yarn?

—Tale of Ise 32

I wonder if even in jest I could do without you.
I gave it a try, to which I proved unequal.

— Anonymous, Kokin Wakashū 1025

If you have hearts, O cherries of Fukakusa,
This year alone send forth your flowers in black.

— Kanzuke Mineo, Kokin Wakashū 832



Translated by Edward Seidensticker