Kakinomoto no Asomi Hitomaro
Kakinomoto no Asomi Hitomaro Poems
By the Karu road,
under the mallard’s flyway,
my love, my sister,
lived in her small town,
and deep desire
to see her filled my soul.
...
...
On the sands of Sanuki's shore
folk gather fine seaweed,
and the eye never wearies of this fair land,
...
On the sea at Ômi,
Plovers fly the waves at dusk
And with their cries
My mind is turned
...
Coarse woven cloth
The beach at Fujie:
Catching sea bass,
A fisherman, is that what I'll seem?
...
From uncountable
Ôtsu, she came and,
On the day I met her,
Glanced at her but briefly,
...
On this autumn mountain
Tumbling yellowed leaves
For just a moment
Cease your scattering
...
To the far-reaching
Heavens has gone
My prince, so
Unaware of passing days and nights
...
A twist of folded grass, your pillow,
The only lodging on your journey;
Whose husband, I wonder?
Though in your land, forgotten
...
By the sea in Iwami,
On the shore at Tsuno,
There is no beach,
For folk to see;
...
Distant as the heavens,
'long lengthy country roads
Filled with feeling have I come
...
Jewelled seaweed,
Province of Sanuki:
Is it your nature that
The sight of you will never sate?
...
I do speak these words, though
They may profane what's holy;
I speak them
Filled with awe:
...
Lamplit
Akashi: to your great strait
I enter in, and on the selfsame day
Will I row on, parting,
...
My grey-dappled steed
Strides swiftly and
Amongst the clouds
My beloved's home
...
Of Inabi field,
That I could ne'r pass by,
Was I thinking when,
My beloved
...
I feel my body must soon rest
among the rocks of Kamo's hill.
Not knowing my sad fate, alas,
my wife will still await me!
...
On Tsunu's coast close by the waters of Ihami
where men say there is no sheltering bay
or salty flats that furnish shell fish,
...
Kakinomoto no Asomi Hitomaro Biography
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (c. 662 - 710) was a Japanese poet and aristocrat of the late Asuka period. He was the most prominent of the poets included in the Man'yōshū, and was particularly represented in volumes 1 and 2. In Japan, he is considered one of the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals. After the Heian period he was often called "Hito-maru" Hitomaro is famed for his long poems, such as "In the sea of ivy clothed Iwami", "The Bay of Tsunu", and "I loved her like the leaves." 19 of his chōka (or nagauta, "long poems") were included in the Man'yōshū and 75 or so tanka (or mijikauta, "short poems") were likewise selected. Many of his poems were written on the topics of public occasions; such as his "Lament for Prince Takechi", written as part of the mourning ceremonies for Takechi. Other poems were written on occasions in his life when he was particularly moved: parting from his wife, mourning for his wife, or on seeing a corpse.)
The Best Poem Of Kakinomoto no Asomi Hitomaro
On The Death Of His Wife (I)
By the Karu road,
under the mallard’s flyway,
my love, my sister,
lived in her small town,
and deep desire
to see her filled my soul.
But people all around with curious eyes
prevented constant visits,
and few private meetings
were granted us.
Yet I always trusted
the way would be clear,
though endless as the wild vine,
at last to meet my dear,
like a hopeful sailor
trusting on his tall ship.
Alas,
while our ways of love we still kept secret,
secret as pool sheltered in warm rocks,
my world a sunless waste became,
and clouds snuffed out the moon that lit my heaven.
For she, my love—as graceful as deep kelp fronds—
has faded from my days like autumn's glory.
Such is the news the running messenger brings.
Like the clang of the bow-string on
a whitewood bow they hit my ear,
but I find no word to answer
or means to offer solace,
any words are aching pain.
Yet I would assuage my sorrow
by even its smallest part—
so towards Karu where she always watched
my coming, I go on my way listening,
listening for her voice, but only hear
the screams of wild fowl flying
across a sullen landscape.
I meet and scan the faces
of folk along the soldier’s road
but no face like hers I see.
So nothing is left—
I can but call her name
and wave my sleeve in vain.
I would gladly follow
the wandering spirit of my love
through precipitous ways
hidden by autumn's red leaves,
but cannot tread those unknown mountain trails
That lie beyond my ken.
In autumn’s fall of scarlet forest leaves
I see the message coming for me
and think of one day of love
that never more shall be.
Kakinomoto no Asomi Hitomaro Comments
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro is one of the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals (Immortals of Poetry) - 三十六歌仙 Sanjūrokkasen - They are 36 Japanese poets of the Nara, Asuka and Heian periods selected by Fujiwara no Kintō as exemplars of Japanese poetic ability.
Fujiwara no Kintō established the grouping of the Thirty-Six Poetic Geniuses or Thirty-six Poetry Immortals (Sanjūrokkasen) in the ''Anthology of Poems by the Thirty-Six Poets'': Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Ki no Tsurayuki Ōshikōchi Mitsune Lady Ise Ōtomo no Yakamochi Yamabe no Akahito Ariwara no Narihira Henjō Sosei Ki no Tomonori Sarumaru no Taifu Ono no Komachi Fujiwara no Kanesuke Fujiwara no Asatada Fujiwara no Atsutada Fujiwara no Takamitsu Minamoto no Kintada Mibu no Tadamine Saigū no Nyōgo / Kishi Joō Ōnakatomi no Yoritomo Fujiwara no Toshiyuki Minamoto no Shigeyuki Minamoto no Muneyuki Minamoto no Saneakira Fujiwara no Kiyotada Minamoto no Shitagō Fujiwara no Okikaze Kiyohara no Motosuke Sakanoue no Korenori Fujiwara no Motozane Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu Fujiwara no Nakafumi Taira no Kanemori Mibu no Tadami Kodai no Kimi Nakatsukasa
kuni wasuretaru / ie matamaku ni Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (Man’yōshū: 426)
His best poem, in my opinion, is 'When She Was Still Alive', which is not listed on this website.
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8/25/2026 3:03:25 AM # rel_20260813T193622Z_3aad590
' When she was still alive ' When she was still alive We would go out, arm in arm, And look at the elm trees Growing on the embankment In front of our house. Their branches were interlaced. Their crowns were dense with spring leaves. They were like our love. Love and trust were not enough to turn back The wheels of life and death. She faded like a mirage over the desert. One morning like a bird she was gone In the white scarves of death. Now when the child Whom she left in her memory Cries and begs for her, All I can do is pick him up And hug him clumsily. I have nothing to give him. In our bedroom our pillows Still lie side by side, As we lay once. I sit there by myself And let the days grow dark. I lie awake at night, sighing till daylight. No matter how much I mourn I shall never see her again. They tell me her spirit May haunt Mount Hagai Under the eagles’ wings. I struggle over the ridges And climb to the summit. I know all the time That I shall never see her, Not even so much as a faint quiver in the air. All my longing, all my love Will never make any difference. [ Kakinomoto no Hitomaro ]