Excerpts from the Waka Collection of New Leaves (新葉和歌集, Shin’yō Wakashū)
臥し侘びぬ 霜さむき夜の 床はあれて 袖にはげしき 山おろしの風 （後醍醐天皇）
Fusi wabi nu Simo samuki yo no Toko fa are te Sode ni fagesiki Yamaorosi no kaze. (Emperor Godaigo)
I lie in desolation, lonely and grieving— On cold and frost-bound nights, my bed is stark and ruined, While through my tear-soaked sleeves Rages the harsh, unrelenting wind from the mountain.
都だに さびしかりしを 雲晴れぬ 吉野の奥の 五月雨の頃（後醍醐天皇）
Miyako dani Sabisikari si wo Kumo fare nu Yosino no oku no Samidare no koro (Emperor Godaigo)
Even in the Capital, life felt so lonely and desolate— now here in the depths of Yoshino, where the heavy clouds never clear, the summer rains fall endlessly.
鳥の音に おどろかされて 暁の 寝覚めしづかに 世を思ふかな （後村上天皇）
Tori no ne ni Odoroka sa re te Akatuki no Nezame siduka ni Yo wo Omofu kana (Emperor Gomurakami)
Awakened by the sudden call of a bird, In the quiet of the dawn, I reflect with a heavy heart upon the troubled realm.
忘ればや 忍ぶも苦し かずかずに 思ひ出でても かへりこぬ世を（後村上天皇）
Wasure baya Sinobu mo kurusi Kazu kazu ni Omofi ide te mo Kaferi ko nu yo wo (Emperor Gomurakami)
How I wish to forget—for enduring this pain is unbearable. No matter how many fond memories I recall, that bygone era will never return.
神もまた あはれと思へ 石清水 木がくれてわが すめる心を（後村上天皇）
Kami mo mata Afare to omofe Ifasimidu Ko gakure te waga Sume ru kokoro wo
May the deity look with compassion upon me, For like the pure spring hidden deep among the trees, I dwell here in darkness, keeping a clear and untainted heart.
咲きそむる 花に知らせじ 世の中の 人の心の うつりやすさを（北畠親房）
Saki somuru Fana ni sira se ji Yo no naka no Fito no kokoro no Uturi yasu sa wo (Kitabatake Tikafusa)
To the flowers just beginning to bloom, let them not know How easily human hearts shift and change in this world.
あづまのかたに、ひさしく侍りて、ひたすらもののふの道にのみたづさはりつつ、征東将軍の宣旨など下されしも、おもひのほかなるやうにおぼえて、よみ侍りし
思ひきや 手もふれざりし 梓弓 起き伏しわが身 慣れむものとは （宗良親王）
Omofi ki ya Te mo fure zari si Adusa yumi Oki fusi waga mi Nare mu mono to fa (Prince Muneyosi)
Having stayed in the Eastern Provinces for a long time, devoting myself solely to the way of the warrior, I even received the Imperial Decree appointing me Commander-in-Chief for the East—a fate so far beyond anything I had ever imagined, which moved me to compose this poem:
Did I ever dream that the bow of catalpa wood, which my hands once never touched, would become so familiar to my body, waking and sleeping, day and night?
おなじ頃、武蔵国へうちこえて、小手指原といふ所におりゐて、手分などし侍りし時、いさみあるべきよしつはものどもに、めし仰せ侍りしついでに、思ひつづけ侍りし
君のため 世のためなにか 惜しからむ 捨ててかひある 命なりせば（宗良親王）
Kimi no tame Yo no tame nani ka Osika ramu Sute te kafi aru Inoti nari se ba (Prince Muneyosi)
Around the same time, after crossing into Musashi Province and encamping at a place called Kotesashigahara, I deployed my forces and urged my warriors to fight with valor and courage. It was on this occasion that I composed these lines:
For my Sovereign Lord, and for the peace of this troubled world, why should I grudge anything? If this life of mine is worth laying down, I shall give it up without regret.
夏草の 茂みが下の 埋もれ水 ありと知らせて 行く蛍かな（後村上天皇）
Natu kusa no Sigemi ga sita no Umore midu Ari to sira se te Yuku Fotaru kana (Emperor Gomurakami)
Beneath the thick summer grass, a hidden stream flows unseen— yet the flickering firefly, drifting by, reveals its quiet presence with a glow.
一木まづ 霧の絶え間に 見えそめて 風に数そふ 浦の松原（後村上天皇）
Fito ki madu Kiri no tae ma ni Mie some te Kaze ni kazu sofu Ura no Matu bara (Emperor Gomurakami)
A single tree first begins to show from a break in the mist, and then the pine grove aligned on the shore, their numbers, multiplied by the wind.