いろは

色は匂へど（いろはにおえど)
散りぬるを　（ちりぬるを）
我が世誰ぞ　（わがよたれぞ）
常ならむ　（つねならむ）
有為の奥山　（ういのおくやま）
今日越えて　（きょこえて）
浅き夢見じ　（あさきゆめみじ）
酔ひもせず　（えいもせず）

Even the blossoming flowers
will eventually scatter
who in our world
is unchanging?
The deep mountains of vanity --
we cross them today
and we shall not see superficial dreams
nor be deluded.

The Iroha (いろは) is a Japanese poem, probably written in the Heian era (AD 794–1179). Originally the poem was attributed to the founder of the Shingon Esoteric sect of Buddhism in Japan, Kūkai, but more modern research has found the date of composition to be later in the Heian Period. The first record of its existence dates from 1079. It is famous because it is a perfect pangram, containing each character of the Japanese syllabary exactly once. Because of this, it is also used as an ordering for the syllabary.

*from wikipedia*