Harugasumi Kasuga no sato no uekonagi nae nari to iishi e wa sashinikemu

春霞春日の里の植ゑ子水葱
苗なりと言ひし枝はさしにけむ

Roma-ji: Harugasumi Kasuga no sato no uekonagi nae nari to iishi e wa sashinikemu
English Translation: Spring mist rising soft,
in the village of Kasuga
the young water leek—
though they said it was a seedling,
has it put out branches now?
Meaning: The young water leek planted in Kasuga village—they said it was still a seedling, but surely by now its stems have grown.
Commentary: Book Three Allegorical Poems 407

Headnote: "A poem by Ōtomo no Sukune Surugamaro courting the Younger Daughter of the same Sakanoue house"
This poem belongs to the section of Allegorical Poems in Book Three. It is a poem of courtship to the Younger Daughter of the Sakanoue house. The young water leek planted in Kasuga village, said to be still a seedling, must by now have put out stems—hinting that the Younger Daughter, once said to be too young, must now have come of age, and so he courts her.
The poet, Ōtomo no Surugamaro, was a Nara-period official said to be a grandson of Ōtomo no Miyuki. He later governed the northeast as Inspector of Mutsu and General of the Pacification Headquarters, and died in Hōki 7 (776).

First line "Spring mist rising soft": harugasumi is a pillow word for Kasuga.
Second line "in the village of Kasuga": Kasuga lay east of the Heijō capital, near the Sakanoue residence.
Third line "the young water leek": konagi is a waterweed of rice paddies; it stands for the Younger Daughter.
Fourth line "though they said it was a seedling" hints that she was said to be too young.
Fifth line "has it put out branches now": sasu means to put out shoots and kemu is past conjecture, surmising her growth.
Author: Ōtomo no Surugamaro
Source: Manyoshu
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