Kawakaze no samuki Hatsuse o nagekitsutsu kimi ga aruku ni niru hito mo ae ya

川風の寒き泊瀬を嘆きつつ
君が歩くに似る人も逢へや

Roma-ji: Kawakaze no samuki Hatsuse o nagekitsutsu kimi ga aruku ni niru hito mo ae ya
English Translation: Where the river wind
blows so cold on Hatsuse,
as you walk and mourn,
would that you might chance to meet
one who looks like her you've lost.
Meaning: As you walk in grief through Hatsuse, where the river wind blows cold, if only you might meet someone who resembles the one you have lost.
Commentary: Book Three Elegies 425

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem composed in grief by Prince Yamakuma, likewise on the death of Prince Iwata" — "Two envoys from a certain text"
This is the second of the two envoys from a certain text. As you walk mourning through Hatsuse, where the river wind blows cold, if only you might meet at least someone who looks like the one you lost—he feels for the bereaved. A left note says that, by one account, these two poems were composed by Prince Yamakuma on behalf of Prince Iwata after the death of Princess Ki, so it is read as sympathy for Iwata's grief at losing her. It has long been considered one of the obscure poems.
The poet, Prince Yamakuma, was a son of Prince Osakabe and a royal of the early Nara period. He died in Yōrō 7 (723).

First line "Where the river wind" names the wind sweeping over the river.
Second line "blows so cold on Hatsuse": Hatsuse was known as a place of burial.
Third line "as you walk and mourn" means while grieving.
Fourth line "as you walk": kimi is taken as the one grieving for the dead.
Fifth line "would that you might chance to meet one who looks like her": ya is read either as rhetorical or as a wish; the line's interpretation is divided.
Author: Prince Yamakuma
Source: Manyoshu
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