Miyoshino no taki no shiranami shiranedomo katari shi tsugeba inishie omooyu

み吉野の滝の白波知らねども
語りし継げばいにしへ思ほゆ

Roma-ji: Miyoshino no taki no shiranami shiranedomo katari shi tsugeba inishie omooyu
English Translation: In fair Yoshino
the white waves of the rapids—
though I've never seen them,
since the tales are handed down,
the days of old come to mind.
Meaning: I have never seen the white waves of the rapids at Yoshino, yet because the tales have been passed down, I find myself thinking of the days of old.
Commentary: Book Three Miscellaneous Poems 313

Headnote: "A poem by Tori no Senryō"
The poet has never seen the white waves of the Yoshino rapids, but through tales handed down from long ago, he recalls the days when the Yoshino palace flourished. Yoshino was a sacred place known for the royal visits of Emperor Tenmu and Empress Jitō, and he honors the past through stories heard. The sound shira repeated in shiranami ("white waves") and shiranedomo ("though I know not") is a crafted touch.
The poet, Tori no Senryō, was a man of letters of the early Nara period whose poems also appear in the Chinese verse anthology Kaifūsō.

First line "In fair Yoshino": mi is an honorific prefix.
Second line "the white waves of the rapids": taki is the torrent of the Yoshino River near Miyataki.
Third line "though I've never seen them": ne is the conditional of the negative zu. It echoes shira from the second line.
Fourth line "since the tales are handed down": shi is emphatic—"because people keep telling them."
Fifth line "the days of old come to mind" ends by recalling the age when the Yoshino palace flourished.
Author: Tori no Senryō
Source: Manyoshu
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