Yamakawa mo yorite tsukauru kamunagara tagitsu kōchi ni funade sesu kamo

山川も依りて仕ふる神ながら
たぎつ河内に舟出せすかも

Roma-ji: Yamakawa mo yorite tsukauru kamunagara tagitsu kōchi ni funade sesu kamo
English Translation: Even hill and stream
draw near to serve our Sovereign,
who, a god indeed,
on the rushing river's bend
sets out now upon her boat!
Meaning: She who is a god herself, whom even the gods of mountain and river draw near to serve—see how she sets out by boat upon the churning waters of the valley!
Commentary: Book One Miscellaneous Poems 39

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 praising the Sovereign, a god whom even the gods of mountain and river draw near to serve, as she sets out by boat on the rushing waters of the valley. Taking up the long poem's close, "an age of a god, whom hill and stream draw near to serve," it gathers into the concrete scene of a boat launch the grand vision of even nature's gods serving the Sovereign. It is the envoy to the second of Hitomaro's long poems in praise of Yoshino.
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, "even hill and stream," sums up the gods of the mountains and rivers celebrated in the long poem.
The second line means "draw near and serve." The first two lines repeat the closing lines of the long poem, binding long poem and envoy closely together.
The third line, kamunagara, "being a god," expresses the idea that the Sovereign is a god herself. The long poem also contains kamunagara, a word characteristic of Hitomaro's praise of the throne.
In the fourth line, tagitsu means rushing water and kōchi land embraced by a river's flow, referring to the site of the Yoshino Palace.
In the last line, sesu is the honorific of su ("to do"), and kamo an exclamatory particle: "she sets out by boat!" In the figure of the Sovereign launching onto the torrent, it praises her divine majesty.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Source: Manyoshu
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