Ever heard of the Hyakunin Isshu?
Probably not, but they are beautiful old poems which are often used for karuta games, if I'm to believe the mangas I've read.
Well, there's no doubt that they are beautiful old poems, it's the karuta game part I'm not sure about.
I've tried, and failed, at finding a good English translation of the poems, but I did find a nice Japanese site where they are translated to modern Japanese and explained pretty well (as far as I can see).
Recommended for anyone who knows their kanji, or is good with dictionaries:
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~SG2H-ymst/yamatouta/sennin/100i/001.htmlI think I made it a goal once to learn them all by heart. Was distracted and forgot everything about it after the 7th poem...
My favorite so far is the 5th:
奥山に紅葉ふみわけなく鹿のこゑきく時ぞ秋はかなしき
Okuyama ni, momiji fumiwake, naku sika no, koe kiku toki zo, aki wa kanashiki
Simply beautiful