Miredo akanu yoshino no kawa no tokoname no tayuru koto naku mata kaerimimu

見れど飽かぬ吉野の川の常滑の
絶ゆることなくまたかへり見む

Roma-ji: Miredo akanu yoshino no kawa no tokoname no tayuru koto naku mata kaerimimu
English Translation: Though I never tire,
the river of Yoshino,
its ever-smooth rocks—
unceasing as they, again
and again I'll come to see.
Meaning: Like the ever-smooth rocks of the Yoshino River, which I can gaze on without tiring, I shall return again and again, unceasingly, to see this place.
Commentary: Book One Miscellaneous Poems 37

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem composed by Kakinomoto no Asomi Hitomaro when the Empress journeyed to the Yoshino Palace — envoy"
An envoy vowing to return again and again, unceasingly, like the ever-smooth rocks of the Yoshino River that one never tires of seeing. Taking up the long poem's closing words, "never tiring though I gaze," as its first line, it praises the everlasting glory of the Yoshino Palace. Empress Jitō journeyed to Yoshino many times; the left note, citing the Nihon Shoki, lists the frequent visits and adds that it is unknown on which of them the poem was composed.
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro was a court poet active in the reigns of Empress Jitō and Emperor Monmu, and he is the foremost poet of the Man'yōshū. Though his rank appears to have been low, he left many grand and dignified poems, above all long poems, and later ages revered him as a "saint of poetry."

The first line, "though I never tire of seeing," takes up the long poem's final words exactly—a typical way of linking long poem and envoy. The line is hypermetric.
The second line names the Yoshino River, which flows beside the Yoshino Palace.
The third line, tokoname, refers to riverbed rocks kept always smooth by moss. The first three lines form a preface leading to "unceasing."
The fourth line means "without ceasing," as the smooth rocks never cease. The endlessness of the river is overlaid on repeated royal visits and the lasting glory of the palace.
In the last line, kaerimiru means to come back and see again, and mu expresses intent: "I will come and see again." It blesses the royal journeys that will continue in the future.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Source: Manyoshu
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