Umeyanagi suguraku oshimi saho no uchi ni asobishi koto o miya mo todoro ni

梅柳過ぐらく惜しみ佐保の内に
遊びしことを宮もとどろに

Roma-ji: Umeyanagi suguraku oshimi saho no uchi ni asobishi koto o miya mo todoro ni
English Translation: The plum and willow—
grieving that their prime would pass,
within Saho's bounds
we went out to take our ease, and
the palace rang with the din
Meaning: Grieving that the plum and willow would soon be past their prime, we went out to take our pleasure in Saho, and for that the whole palace rang with the uproar.
Commentary: Book Six Miscellaneous Poems 949

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "One envoy"
This poem laments that the poet and his companions merely went out to Saho, grieving that the plum and willow would soon pass their prime, yet were rebuked so loudly that the palace rang with it. The long poem immediately before it (948) is titled "A poem composed when, in the first month of spring in the fourth year, the princes and the sons of the ministers were by imperial command confined in the Jutō Office," and laments that just when the geese are calling on Mount Kasuga and the poet longs to go out and enjoy himself with his friends, he cannot so much as step onto the road, in awe of the sovereign's command.
According to the left note, in the first month of Jinki 4 (727), many princes and sons of ministers had gathered on the plain of Kasuga to enjoy a game of dakyū, a ball game played with sticks, when the sky suddenly clouded over, rain fell, and thunder rolled. Because there were no chamberlains or guards in the palace at that moment, they were punished by imperial order, all confined in the Jutō Office and forbidden to go out onto the roads at will. The poem was composed to vent their resentment. The Jutō Office oversaw the sword-bearing guards who protected the palace.
The left note states that the poet is unknown, so the author cannot be identified. He is thought to have been one of the princes or sons of ministers who were confined.
Although the left note places the outing on the plain of Kasuga, the poem speaks of "within Saho's bounds." Both were pleasure grounds adjoining the capital of Heijō to the east and north, where young nobles went out to enjoy the spring.

The first line, "The plum and willow," names two plants that brighten early spring. As a pairing that stands for springtime in the capital, it shows well the mood in which the young men went out.
The second line, "grieving that their prime would pass," means regretting the passing of their best season. "Suguraku" is a nominalized form of the verb "sugu," "to pass," meaning "the passing." The line carries a note of self-justification, as if to say that they went out only from love of the season.
The third line, "within Saho's bounds," refers to the area northeast of the capital of Heijō along the Saho River. It is akin to "the hills of Saho" in 955 of this book in singing of Saho as a place where the people of the capital lived.
The fourth line, "we went out to take our ease, and," means "that we amused ourselves," conveying the sense that what they did was nothing more than play.
The final line, "the palace rang with the din," means "so that even the palace resounded," and breaks off with words such as "we were rebuked" left unsaid. Anger and grief that a trifling outing became a grave affair linger in this omission.
Source: Manyoshu
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