いろは

いろはにほへと　ちりぬるを
わかよたれそ　　つねならむ
うゐのおくやま　けふこえて

あさきゆめみし　ゑひもせすん

A poem with a perfect pangram (using each character of the Japanese syllabary only once), written sometime in the Heian era (AD 794–1179).

Although its scent still lingers on
the form of a flower has scattered away
For whom will the glory
of this world remain unchanged?
Arriving today at the yonder side
of the deep mountains of evanescent existence
We shall never allow ourselves to drift away
intoxicated, in the world of shallow dreams.

Translation by Ryuichi Abe