Kaku shitsutsu asobi nomi koso kusaki sura haru wa sakitsutsu aki wa chiriyuku

かくしつつ遊び飲みこそ草木すら
春は咲きつつ秋は散りゆく

Roma-ji: Kaku shitsutsu asobi nomi koso kusaki sura haru wa sakitsutsu aki wa chiriyuku
English Translation: Just as we are now,
make merry and drink your fill—
even grass and trees,
though in spring they come to bloom,
in autumn scatter and fall
Meaning: Go on like this, making merry and drinking together. Even the grasses and trees, though they bloom in spring, scatter and fall away in autumn.
Commentary: Book Six Miscellaneous Poems 995

Headnote: "A poem by Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue at a banquet for her kin"
At a banquet to which she had invited her relatives, the poet urges everyone to go on enjoying themselves and drinking as they are, giving as her reason that even the grasses and trees, though they bloom in spring, scatter in autumn. Mindful of how fleeting the world is, she speaks as a hostess who wishes to cherish this very gathering.
Lady Sakanoue is thought to have presided over the rites and banquets of the Ōtomo clan as the lady of the household, and this poem seems to have been composed as she entertained her kin in that role. Overlaying human life on the rise and fall of plants, it lets a sense of impermanence seep through the brightness proper to a banquet song.
The poet, Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue, was a daughter of Ōtomo no Yasumaro and a half-sister of Ōtomo no Tabito. She was named after the village of Sakanoue where she lived; she acted as guardian to her nephew Ōtomo no Yakamochi, and her daughter Sakanoue no Ōiratsume later became Yakamochi's wife. She is one of the leading women poets of the Man'yōshū.

In contrast to the thousand-age pine of 990 and the unceasing Hatsuse River of 991, which praised permanence, this poem sings of the changing of plants and shows the other side of time: its impermanence.
The first line, "Just as we are now," means "while doing thus." "Kaku" points to the banquet taking place at that very moment, and "tsutsu" expresses continuing action.
The second line, "make merry and drink your fill," means "please enjoy yourselves and drink." "Koso" is a final particle expressing a wish toward others, and the sense breaks here, after the second line.
The third line, "even grass and trees," uses "sura" to raise one example and let others be inferred: if even mindless plants are so, how much more so are people.
The fourth line, "though in spring they come to bloom," means "while blooming in spring." "Tsutsu" indicates that the flourishing continues for a while.
The final line, "in autumn scatter and fall," means that they scatter away in autumn. "In spring" in the fourth line and "in autumn" in the final line form a parallel pair, and the poem closes with a vivid contrast between flourishing and decline.
Author: Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Furisakete mikazuki mireba hitome mishi hito no mayobiki omōyuru kamo
Next Poem: Mitami ware ikeru shirushi ari ametsuchi no sakayuru toki ni aeraku omoeba