Asukagawa asu dani mimu to omoe ya mo waga ōkimi no mina wasure senu

明日香川明日だに見むと思へやも
我が大君の御名忘れせぬ

Roma-ji: Asukagawa asu dani mimu to omoe ya mo waga ōkimi no mina wasure senu
English Translation: Asuka River—
is it that I think to see her
on tomorrow's day?
The name of my great lady
I can never forget.
Meaning: Is it because, like the name of the Asuka River, I think I may see her even tomorrow, that I can never forget the name of my great lady?
Commentary: Book Two Elegies 198

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Poems composed by Kakinomoto no Asomi Hitomaro at the time of the temporary enshrinement of Princess Asuka at Kinoe, two short poems"
Playing on the sound asu, "tomorrow," in the Asuka River's name, he wonders whether it is because he thinks he may see her tomorrow that he cannot forget the princess's name. That the river and the princess share the same name sustains his unforgettable longing.
These are elegies Kakinomoto no Hitomaro composed when the body of Princess Asuka lay in state at the temporary shrine at Kinoe, with two short poems appended to the long poem 196. Princess Asuka was a daughter of Emperor Tenji, said to have been a consort of Prince Osakabe, and she died in the fourth year of Emperor Monmu's reign (700). This is the second of those two short poems.
The author, Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, was a court poet active in the reigns of Empress Jitō and Emperor Monmu. A master of the long poem and the elegy, he is the representative poet of the Man'yōshū and was later revered as the Saint of Poetry.
The text carries three notes on variants: some sources have sae for dani in the second line, "omoe kamo" for the third line, and "mina wasuraenu" for the final line. Here the main text is followed.

The first line, "asukagawa," repeats the first line of the preceding poem and leads by sound to asu, "tomorrow."
In the second line, "asu dani mimu to," dani means "at least": thinking to see her tomorrow if no more.
In the third line, "omoe ya mo," ya is interrogative; attached to the perfective form, it means "is it because I think so?"
The fourth line, "waga ōkimi no," refers to Princess Asuka.
The final line, "mina wasure senu," means "I do not forget her name." Because the princess's name is that of the river, it shows that every sight of the river calls her name to mind.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Asukagawa shigarami watashi sekamaseba nagaruru mizu mo nodo ni ka aramashi
Next Poem: Hisakata no ame shirashinuru kimi yue ni hitsuki mo shirazu koiwataru kamo