Yama no ha ni isayou tsuki no idemu ka to waga matsu kimi ga yo wa kutachitsutsu

山の端にいさよふ月の出でむかと
我が待つ君が夜はくたちつつ

Roma-ji: Yama no ha ni isayou tsuki no idemu ka to waga matsu kimi ga yo wa kutachitsutsu
English Translation: At the mountain's rim
the moon lingers, hesitant—
will it now appear?
So I wait for you, my friend,
while the night wears on and on
Meaning: Like the moon lingering at the mountain's rim, I wait wondering whether you will appear at last, my friend, while the night wears on and on.
Commentary: Book Six Miscellaneous Poems 1008

Headnote: "A poem by Imibe no Obito Kuromaro resenting a friend who was late in coming"
This poem resents a friend who, like the moon hesitating at the mountain's rim and slow to rise, does not come though the poet waits and wonders whether he will appear at any moment, while the night grows late. "Late in coming" in the headnote refers to a slow arrival, and the poem was composed in resentment at a promised visit that was delayed.
Overlapping the moon that hesitates to rise with a friend who is slow in coming, the poem depicts the impatience of waiting within a night scene. It applies the motif of "waiting," common in love poems, to friendship.
The poet, Imibe no Kuromaro, was an official of the Nara period belonging to the Imibe no Obito clan. The Imibe clan was engaged in the rituals of the court.

The first line, "At the mountain's rim," means around the ridgeline of the mountain, showing the place where the moon is about to appear.
The second line, "the moon lingers, hesitant," means "the moon that is hesitating." "Isayou" means to hold back while trying to advance, describing the moon that is slow to rise from the mountain's rim. The first two lines work as a figure leading into "will it appear" in the third line.
The third line, "will it now appear?" means "wondering whether it will come out." It applies both to the rising of the moon and to the friend's appearance.
The fourth line, "So I wait for you, my friend," means "you for whom I wait." "Kimi" refers to the friend who had promised to visit.
The final line, "while the night wears on and on," means that the night only grows later. "Kudatsu" means to pass one's peak and decline, or for the night to grow late, and the poem trails off with "tsutsu," leaving as an echo the length of the waiting and its helplessness.
Author: Imibe no Kuromaro
Source: Manyoshu
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