Matsu no ha ni tsuki wa yutsurinu momichiba no sugure ya kimi ga awanu yo zo ōki

松の葉に月はゆつりぬ黄葉の
過ぐれや君が逢はぬ夜ぞ多き

Roma-ji: Matsu no ha ni tsuki wa yutsurinu momichiba no sugure ya kimi ga awanu yo zo ōki
English Translation: To the pine's needles
now the moon has moved along;
like the autumn leaves,
has your heart passed on from me,
that the nights we miss are many
Meaning: The moon has moved on into the pine needles; has your heart passed away like the scattering autumn leaves, that there are so many nights you do not meet me?
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 623

Headnote: "A poem recited by Prince Ikenobe at a banquet"
Prince Ikenobe recited this poem at a banquet. As the moon moves among the pine needles and time slips by, the speaker complains that the lover, perhaps estranged, fails to come on many nights. It speaks in a woman's voice and may be an old song or another's poem recited at the feast. The "pine" (matsu) of the first line is also thought to echo "waiting" (matsu).
The author, Prince Ikenobe, is thought to be a son of Prince Kadono and a grandson of Prince Ōtomo; he was the father of Ōmi no Mifune.

First line, "To the pine's needles," means on the pine needles; the pine is thought to echo matsu, "to wait," showing a waiting heart.
Second line, "now the moon has moved along," uses yutsuru, "to move," and the perfective nu: the moon has moved on. The poem breaks after this line.
Third line, "like the autumn leaves," is momichiba no, a pillow word for sugu, "to pass," from leaves scattering and passing.
Fourth line, "has your heart passed on from me," joins the perfective form to ya for a questioning condition: is it because your heart has passed on? It is closed by ōki in the fifth line.
Fifth line, "that the nights we miss are many," runs to eight syllables and closes zo with the attributive ōki: how many are the nights you do not meet me.
Author: Prince Ikenobe
Source: Manyoshu
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