Nearly half of the Hyakunin Isshu — forty-three of its hundred poems — are poems of love. A love kept hidden from everyone; a night spent waiting for someone who never comes; a longing that only deepens after the two have met; and then jealousy, and parting. Love a thousand years ago looks startlingly like our own. Here the forty-three poems are grouped by the moment of love they capture, each with its meaning, the story of its poet, and the song we made from it as J-POP today.
Poems that have become songs link from their row to the song page — meaning, the story behind the poem, bilingual lyrics, and the music video.
| No. | Poem | Poet | Meaning | Kimariji |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Ashibiki no yamadori no o no shidari o no naganagashi yo o hitori kamo nen♪ Listen: “Ashibiki no” | Kakinomoto no Hitomaro | This autumn night, as long as the drooping tail of the mountain pheasant — must I sleep it through alone and… | ashi |
| 13 | Tsukubane no mine yori otsuru Minano-gawa koi zo tsumorite fuchi to narinuru♪ Listen: “Tsukubane no” | Retired Emperor Yōzei | Just as the Mina River, falling from the peak of Mount Tsukuba, gradually becomes a deep pool, so my love has… | tsuku |
| 14 | Michinoku no shinobu mojizuri tare yue ni midare-somenishi ware naranaku ni♪ Listen: “Michinoku no” | Kawara no Sadaijin (Minamoto no Tōru) | My heart is in disarray, like the tangled patterns of Michinoku's shinobu-dyed cloth. And whose fault is… | michi |
| 18 | Suminoe no kishi ni yoru nami yoru sae ya yume no kayoiji hitome yoku ramu♪ Listen: “Suminoe no” | Fujiwara no Toshiyuki | Like the waves that draw near the shore of Suminoe, why will you not come to me even in my dreams at night… | su |
| 19 | Naniwa-gata mijikaki ashi no fushi no ma mo awade kono yo o sugushite yo to ya♪ Listen: “Naniwa-gata” | Ise | Are you telling me to live out this life without meeting you even for a moment as brief as the space between… | naniwa ga |
| 20 | わびぬれば 今はた同じ 難波なる 身をつくしても 逢はむとぞ思ふ Coming soon | Prince Motoyoshi | Now that I am sunk in misery, nothing matters anymore. Like the channel markers of Naniwa, I would give up my… | wabi |
| 21 | Ima komu to iishi bakari ni nagatsuki no ariake no tsuki o machi-idetsuru kana♪ Listen: “Ima Kon to” | Priest Sosei | Only because you said 'I'm coming right away,' I waited through the long September night until the daybreak… | ima ko |
| 25 | 名にし負はば 逢坂山の さねかづら 人に知られで くるよしもがな Coming soon | Sanjō no Udaijin (Fujiwara no Sadakata) | The sanekazura vine of Meeting Hill — if it lived up to its name, I wish there were a way to reel it in and… | na ni shi |
| 27 | みかの原 わきて流るる 泉川 いつ見きとてか 恋しかるらむ Coming soon | Chunagon Kanesuke (Fujiwara no Kanesuke) | The Izumi River wells up and flows across the plain of Mika — when did I ever see you, that I should long for… | mika no |
| 30 | 有明の つれなく見えし 別れより 暁ばかり 憂きものはなし Coming soon | Mibu no Tadamine | Ever since that parting, when the daybreak moon looked so cold and indifferent, nothing has been as painful… | aria |
| 38 | Wasuraruru mi oba omowazu chikaiteshi hito no inochi no oshiku mo aru kana♪ Listen: “Wasuraruru” | Ukon | That I am forgotten by you, I do not mind at all. But you swore before the gods, and I cannot help fearing… | wasura |
| 39 | Asajiu no ono no shinohara shinoburedo amarite nado ka hito no koishiki♪ Listen: “Asajiu no” | Sangi Hitoshi (Minamoto no Hitoshi) | The bamboo-grass field of Ono, sparse with cogon grass — though I try to hide my feelings, I cannot hold them… | asaji |
| 40 | Shinoburedo iro ni idenikeri waga koi wa mono ya omou to hito no tou made♪ Listen: “Shinoburedo” | Taira no Kanemori | I tried to hide it, but my love showed on my face all the same — so much that people asked me, 'Is something… | shino |
| 41 | Koi su chō waga na wa madaki tachinikeri hito shirezu koso omoisomeshika♪ Listen: “Koi su Chō” | Mibu no Tadami | The rumor that I am in love has already spread, though I had only just begun to love in secret, so that no… | koi |
| 42 | Chigiriki na katami ni sode o shiboritsutsu Sue no Matsuyama nami kosaji to wa♪ Listen: “Chigiriki na” | Kiyohara no Motosuke | We made a promise, didn't we? Wringing out our tear-soaked sleeves, we swore our hearts would never change… | chigiri ki |
| 43 | Aimite no nochi no kokoro ni kurabureba mukashi wa mono o omowazarikeri♪ Listen: “Aimite no” | Fujiwara no Atsutada | Compared with the longing I feel now, after we met and were united, what I felt before was as if I had not… | ai |
| 44 | Au koto no taete shi naku wa nakanaka ni hito o mo mi o mo uramizaramashi Coming soon | Chunagon Asatada (Fujiwara no Asatada) | If there were no meeting at all, I would have no reason to resent either her coldness or my own misfortune. | auko |
| 45 | あはれとも いふべき人は 思ほえで 身のいたづらに なりぬべきかな Coming soon | Kentoku-kō (Fujiwara no Koretada) | I cannot think of anyone who would even say 'poor thing' for me — and so, I suppose, I will die in vain. | aware |
| 46 | Yura no to o wataru funabito kaji o tae yukue mo shiranu koi no michi kana♪ Listen: “Yura no to o” | Sone no Yoshitada | Like a boatman crossing the Strait of Yura who has lost his oar and drifts, I do not know where the path of… | yura |
| 48 | Kaze o itami iwa utsu nami no onore nomi kudakete mono o omou koro kana♪ Listen: “Kaze o itami” | Minamoto no Shigeyuki | Like waves driven by a fierce wind that shatter alone against the rock, you remain unmoved while I alone am… | kaze o |
| 49 | Mikakimori eji no taku hi no yoru wa moe hiru wa kietsutsu mono o koso omoe Coming soon | Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu | Like the watch fires the guards kindle at the palace gates, my love blazes up by night and nearly dies out by… | mikaki |
| 50 | Kimi ga tame oshikarazarishi inochi sae nagaku mo gana to omoikeru kana♪ Listen: “Kimi ga tame oshikarazarishi” | Fujiwara no Yoshitaka | The life I once thought I would gladly give for you — now that we have met, I find myself wishing it would… | kimi ga tame o |
| 51 | Kaku to dani e ya wa Ibuki no sashimogusa sashimo shiraji na moyuru omoi o♪ Listen: “Kaku to dani” | Fujiwara no Sanekata | Since I cannot even tell you 'this is how much I love you,' you surely do not know how my longing burns, like… | kaku |
| 52 | Akenureba kururu mono to wa shirinagara nao urameshiki asaborake kana♪ Listen: “Akenureba” | Fujiwara no Michinobu | I know that when day breaks, night will fall again and I will see you once more — and still, how I resent… | ake |
| 53 | Nagekitsutsu hitori nuru yo no akuru ma wa ika ni hisashiki mono to ka wa shiru♪ Listen: “Nagekitsutsu” | Udaishō Michitsuna no Haha (Mother of Michitsuna) | Do you have any idea how long the night is, when I lie alone, sighing, waiting for it to end? | nageki |
| 54 | Wasureji no yukusue made wa katakereba kyō o kagiri no inochi to mo gana♪ Listen: “Wasureji no” | Gidō Sanshi no Haha (Takashina no Takako) | Your words, 'I will never forget you,' can hardly hold true far into the future — so I wish my life would end… | wasure |
| 56 | Arazaran kono yo no hoka no omoide ni ima hitotabi no au koto mo gana♪ Listen: “Arazaran” | Izumi Shikibu | Soon I will leave this world. As a memory to carry into the next, I wish I could see you just once more. | araza |
| 58 | Arimayama Ina no sasahara kaze fukeba ide soyo hito o wasure ya wa suru♪ Listen: “Arimayama” | Daini no Sanmi | When the wind blows across the bamboo-grass plain of Ina near Mount Arima, the leaves rustle 'soyo' — yes… | arima |
| 59 | Yasurawade nenamashi mono o sayo fukete katabuku made no tsuki o mishi kana♪ Listen: “Yasurawade” | Akazome Emon | I should have gone to sleep without hesitating. Instead I waited for you, until at last I watched the moon… | yasu |
| 63 | Ima wa tada omoitaenan to bakari o hitozute narade iu yoshi mogana♪ Listen: “Ima wa Tada” | Fujiwara no Michimasa | Now all I have left to say is 'I will give up my love for you' — if only there were a way to tell you that… | ima wa |
| 65 | Urami wabi hosanu sode dani aru mono o koi ni kuchinan na koso oshikere♪ Listen: “Urami wabi” | Sagami | Even these sleeves, worn out by resentment and tears, are precious to me — and how much more so my good name… | ura |
| 72 | Oto ni kiku Takashi no hama no adanami wa kakeji ya sode no nure mo koso sure♪ Listen: “Oto ni kiku” | Yūshi Naishinnō-ke no Kii (Lady Kii) | I will not let the fickle waves of Takashi's famous shore touch me — if I trusted your flirting words, my… | oto |
| 74 | 憂かりける 人を初瀬の 山おろしよ はげしかれとは 祈らぬものを Coming soon | Minamoto no Toshiyori | I prayed to the Kannon of Hatsuse that she would turn toward me — but I never prayed for her to grow as… | uka |
| 77 | Se o hayami iwa ni sekaruru takigawa no warete mo sue ni awan to zo omou♪ Listen: “Se o Hayami” | Retired Emperor Sutoku | Just as the swift current, split in two by a rock, joins together again downstream, so we, though parted now… | se |
| 80 | Nagakaran kokoro mo shirazu kurokami no midarete kesa wa mono o koso omoe♪ Listen: “Nagakaran” | Taikenmon'in no Horikawa | I cannot know whether your heart will remain unchanged forever. This morning my thoughts are as tangled as my… | nagaka |
| 82 | 思ひわび さても命は あるものを 憂きに堪へぬは 涙なりけり Coming soon | Priest Dōin | Though I brood over my misery, my life somehow goes on — but my tears, unable to bear the sorrow, are the… | omo |
| 85 | Yomosugara mono omou koro wa akeyarade neya no hima sae tsurenakarikeri♪ Listen: “Yomosugara” | Priest Shun'e | These days I brood all night long, and even the cracks in my bedroom door seem cold and heartless, as the… | yomo |
| 86 | Nageke tote tsuki ya wa mono o omowasuru kakochigao naru waga namida kana♪ Listen: “Nageke tote” | Priest Saigyō | Does the moon command me to grieve, forcing these thoughts upon me? No — and yet my tears keep falling, as if… | nageke |
| 88 | Naniwae no ashi no karine no hitoyo yue mi o tsukushite ya koiwatarubeki♪ Listen: “Naniwae no” | Kōkamon'in no Bettō | For a single night's rest, brief as one joint of a cut reed in Naniwa Bay, must I love you my whole life… | naniwa e |
| 89 | Tama no o yo taenaba taene nagaraeba shinoburu koto no yowari mo zo suru♪ Listen: “Tama no O yo” | Princess Shikishi | O thread of my life, if you must break, then break now. If I live on, my strength to hide this love will… | tama |
| 90 | Misebaya na Ojima no ama no sode dani mo nure ni zo nureshi iro wa kawarazu♪ Listen: “Misebaya na” | Inpumon'in no Taifu | How I wish I could show you my sleeves — even the fishermen's sleeves on Ojima, drenched and drenched again… | mise |
| 92 | Waga sode wa shiohi ni mienu oki no ishi no hito koso shirane kawaku ma mo nashi♪ Listen: “Waga Sode wa” | Nijōin no Sanuki | My sleeves are like the offshore stone that stays hidden beneath the sea even at low tide — no one knows of… | waga so |
| 97 | Konu hito o Matsuho no ura no yūnagi ni yaku ya moshio no mi mo kogaretsutsu♪ Listen: “Konu Hito o” | Fujiwara no Teika | Waiting for someone who does not come, I burn with longing like the seaweed salt-fires smoldering in the… | konu |
Forty-three. In the thematic categories (budate) used by the imperial anthologies, 43 of the 100 poems fall under "love" — more than twice the next largest group, the 16 autumn poems, and almost half of the whole collection.
It is hard to choose just one, but three are named again and again: Retired Emperor Sutoku's "Se o hayami" (No. 77), Princess Shikishi's "Tama no o yo" (No. 89), and Fujiwara no Yoshitaka's "Kimi ga tame" (No. 50). Taira no Kanemori's "Shinoburedo" (No. 40) and Mibu no Tadami's "Koi su chō" (No. 41) are also famous as the pair that faced each other in the legendary palace poetry contest of 960.
They grew out of Heian court life, where a husband visited his wife at her own home rather than living with her. So many of them are a woman's poem of waiting for a visit, a "morning-after" (kinuginu) poem sent after parting at dawn, or a poem of love hidden from other people's eyes. They also lean on pivot words that mean two things at once — matsu is both "pine tree" and "to wait," mi o tsukushi is both "channel marker" and "wearing myself out" — and on chains of water imagery, so that a landscape and a heart are drawn in the same stroke.
Learn them in the order love itself moves: hidden love, then waiting, then meeting, then resentment, then parting. Grouping them by scene fixes the meaning along with the words. Add the kimariji (the deciding syllables) and hum the poems to a melody, and the link between each upper verse and lower verse settles in naturally.