Hadasusuki Kume no wakugo ga imashikeru Miho no iwaya wa miredo akanu kamo

はだ薄久米の若子がいましける
三穂の石室は見れど飽かぬかも

Roma-ji: Hadasusuki Kume no wakugo ga imashikeru Miho no iwaya wa miredo akanu kamo
English Translation: Pampas grass in plume,
where Kume's young lord, they say,
once made his dwelling—
the rock cave of Miho here,
however seen, I tire not.
Meaning: The rock cave of Miho, where Kume's young lord is said to have dwelt—however long I gaze, I never tire of it.
Commentary: Book Three Miscellaneous Poems 307

Headnote: "Three poems composed by the monk Hakutsū on going to the province of Kii and seeing the rock cave of Miho"
This is the first of the monk Hakutsū's three poems. Visiting the rock cave of Miho, where the legendary Kume no Wakugo is said to have lived, he praises its deep charm. Some identify Kume no Wakugo with the boyhood name of Emperor Kenzō, but this is uncertain. The cave is thought to be the rock cave at Mio in present-day Mihama, Hidaka District, Wakayama. The original text has variant notes—"One version says: kemu" for the third line and "One version says: how it has fallen to ruin" for the last line; here the main readings are followed.
The monk Hakutsū's three poems form a sequence written on visiting the rock cave of Miho in Kii, recalling Kume no Wakugo, who was said to have lived there.
The poet, the monk Hakutsū, lived in the Nara period, but little is known of him.

First line "Pampas grass in plume": hadasusuki, pampas grass in ear, is a pillow word for Kume or for Miho through the word ho, "ear."
Second line "where Kume's young lord": wakugo means young man or young lord, here a legendary figure.
Third line "once made his dwelling": imasu is the honorific of "to be," and keru the attributive of the past keri.
Fourth line "the rock cave of Miho here" names the seaside cave in Kii.
Fifth line "however seen, I tire not" is a stock phrase of praise for a place. In the variant, "how it has fallen to ruin," the poem becomes a lament.
Author: Hakutsū
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Ise no umi no okitsu shiranami hana ni moga tsutsumite imo ga iezuto ni semu
Next Poem: Tokiwa nasu iwaya wa ima mo arikeredo sumikeru hito zo tsune nakarikeru