Year-end Presentations of Waka Poems

Year-end Presentation of Five Waka Poems by His Majesty the Emperor

Yamanashi Prefecture

As we go along
Through villages stretching out
Among the mountains,
Blooming peach trees in the groves
Flowering in profusion.

Visiting the old Nikko Tamozawa Imperial Villa

What was my home in
Nikko at the time of the
Evacuation,
After more than fifty years,
I visited this summer.

Visiting the Town of Ashikaga with the King of Belgium

Looking from the train
I am riding along with
The king of Belgium,
Ripened in rich abundance
I see the autumn rice-fields.

The Mudslide Disaster in Nagano Prefecture

The raging mudflow
Wrought most terrible havoc:
The search for bodies
In the freezing cold river
Today too was carried on.

Looking Back Over Fifty Years

For the fifty years
Of building up our country,
Those who gave themselves
To the work with might and main,
I call to mind their merit.

Year-end Presentation of Three Waka Poems by Her Majesty the Empress

In Memory of Princess Chichibu

You voiced your wish
To go with me, when Spring comes
To gather Chinese clovers.
That spring is here,
Sadly without you.

On the Day commemorating The End of World War II

I do not see their figures,
Nor do I know exactly where they are,
But on land and sea,
I feel the presence of innumerable souls
Watching over, caring for our nation.

The Road

Along both sides of tha lane,
Red Higanbanas(*) are in bloom.
Ah, if I walk on
To the far end of this road,
Shall I meet my mother, long gone?

NoticeHiganbanas:flowers traditionally associated with the dead