Ashihiki no yama sae hikari saku hana no chirinuru gotoki waga ōkimi kamo

あしひきの山さへ光り咲く花の
散りぬるごとき我が大君かも

Roma-ji: Ashihiki no yama sae hikari saku hana no chirinuru gotoki waga ōkimi kamo
English Translation: Foot-weary mountains—
the very hills they lit up,
flowers in full bloom
that have scattered all away:
such is our great lord and prince.
Meaning: Like flowers that bloomed so bright they lit up even the mountains, and then scattered away—such was our prince.
Commentary: Book Three Elegies 477

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Six poems composed by the palace attendant Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi on the death of Prince Asaka in the second month of spring, Tenpyō 16, the year kinoe-saru" — "Envoy"
This is the second envoy to the long poem mourning Prince Asaka. Likening the prince who died young to flowers that bloomed so beautifully they lit up the very mountains and then suddenly scattered, it condenses into one poem the splendor and fragility of a prince who left the world at only seventeen. The left note says these three were composed on the third day of the second month.
This belongs to a sequence of elegies composed by Ōtomo no Yakamochi, then a palace attendant, when Prince Asaka, son of Emperor Shōmu, died suddenly at seventeen in the spring of Tenpyō 16 (744). The prince was buried in the Wazuka hills near the Kuni capital.
The poet, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, was a son of Ōtomo no Tabito and a Nara-period official. He served as Governor of Etchū and of Inaba, among other posts, rose to Middle Counselor, and died in Enryaku 4 (785). He is thought to have been deeply involved in compiling the Man'yōshū. At the time of Prince Asaka's death he was serving him as a palace attendant.

First line "Foot-weary mountains" renders ashihiki no, a pillow word for "mountain."
Second line "the very hills they lit up": sae means "even."
Third line "flowers in full bloom": up to here is the figure for the prince.
Fourth line "that have scattered all away" means having fallen.
Fifth line "such is our great lord and prince": kamo expresses grief at his too-early death.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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