Koseyama no tsuratsura tsubaki tsuratsura ni mitsutsu shinowana kose no haruno o

巨勢山のつらつら椿つらつらに
見つつ偲はな巨勢の春野を

Roma-ji: Koseyama no tsuratsura tsubaki tsuratsura ni mitsutsu shinowana kose no haruno o
English Translation: On Mount Kose stand
camellias, row upon row;
row on row I gaze,
and so let me call to mind
the spring fields of Kose.
Meaning: Gazing long at the camellias ranged row upon row on Mount Kose, let me picture in my heart the spring fields of Kose in bloom.
Commentary: Book One Miscellaneous Poems 54

Headnote: "Poems from the journey of the Retired Empress to Kii Province in the ninth month of autumn, in the first year of Taihō, kanoto-ushi"
On an autumn journey to Kii, the poet sees the camellia trees of Mount Kose and resolves to picture and cherish the spring fields of Kose in bloom. Since the season is autumn, he conjures in his heart camellia blossoms that are not actually blooming, while looking at the rows of camellia trees. The lilting repetition of tsuratsura is memorable. The left note names the author as Sakato no Hitotari. It dates from Retired Empress Jitō's journey to Kii in the ninth month of 701, the first year of Taihō.
Sakato no Hitotari is a figure whose lineage and dates are unknown. The left note to this poem tells us only that he attended Retired Empress Jitō's journey to Kii in 701.

The first line names Mount Kose in Yamato, around present-day Kose in Gose, Nara Prefecture, on the road to Kii.
The second line, tsuratsura tsubaki, means camellias growing in rows. It repeats the sound of the third line's tsuratsura ni, creating a lively rhythm. Poem 56 in this book shares the second and third lines exactly, and the two are set side by side as poems on the same conceit.
The third line, tsuratsura ni, means "intently, closely," echoing the sound of the second line while shifting its sense. The first three lines serve as a preface leading to "gazing."
In the fourth line, tsutsu marks continuation and na intent: "gazing, let me cherish." The poem breaks here, inverted with the last line.
The last line, "the spring fields of Kose," names at the end, through inversion, what the poet will cherish. On an autumn journey, he pictures the spring fields where camellias bloom.
Author: Sakato no Hitotari
Source: Manyoshu
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