Though I grieve, there is no help;
Vainly I long to see her.
Men tell me that my wife is
In the mountains of Hagai-
Thither I go,
Toiling along the stony path;
But it avails me not,
For of my wife, as she lived in this world,
I find not the faintest shadow.

Kakinomoto no Hitomaro

More information about this quote

Topic

Missing someone Losing a loved one Grief Loss

Author

Kakinomoto no Hitomaro

Source

The Manyoshu

Medium

Poem

Language

Japanese

Time

759 750s 8th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Man'yōshū. Compiled by Otomo no Yakamochi. c. 759, bk. 2, poem 210-2.

Current Citation

Anonymous. 1000 Poems from the Manyoshu: The Complete Nippon Gakujutsu Shinko Translation, selected and translated by Iwanami Shoten. Dover Publications, 2005, bk. 2, poem 210-2.

Illustrated Quote

A quote from The Manyoshu about missing someone: “Though I grieve, there is no help; Vainly I long to see her. Men…”
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A quote from The Manyoshu about missing someone: “Though I grieve, there is no help; Vainly I long to see her. Men…”
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A quote from The Manyoshu about missing someone: “Though I grieve, there is no help; Vainly I long to see her. Men…”
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Another quote originally in Japanese

The months and days are the travelers of eternity. The years that come and go are also voyagers... I too for years past have been stirred by the sight of a solitary cloud drifting with the wind to ceaseless thoughts of roaming.

Matsuo Basho

More information about this quote
Topic
Wanderlust Eternity

Author

Matsuo Basho
Source
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Genre
Travel writing
Language
Japanese
Time
1694 1690s 17th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Basho, Matsuo. おくのほそ道 [The Narrow Road to the Deep North]. Tokyo, 1702.

Current Citation

Basho, Matsuo. "The Narrow Road to the Deep North." The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches, translated by Nobuyuki Yuasa. Penguin Classics, 1967.