Inishie yu hito no iikeru oihito no otsu to iu mizu zo na ni ou taki no se

いにしへゆ人の言ひ来る老人の
変若つといふ水ぞ名に負ふ滝の瀬

Roma-ji: Inishie yu hito no iikeru oihito no otsu to iu mizu zo na ni ou taki no se
English Translation: Since days of old
have people told it down the years:
that the aged ones
regain their youth, such water
is this, the famous rapids' flow
Meaning: This is the water people have spoken of since ancient times, that makes the aged young again: the rapids of the falls, worthy of their name.
Commentary: Book Six Miscellaneous Poems 1034

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem composed by Ōtomo no Sukune Azumahito at the temporary palace of Tagi in the province of Mino"
This poem praises the falls at Tagi: the water people have spoken of since ancient times, that makes the aged young again, is this very stream of the falls, worthy of its name. It is a poem from the journey of Tenpyō 12 (740), when Emperor Shōmu made a progress to the province of Ise following the rebellion of Fujiwara no Hirotsugu, Junior Assistant Governor-General of Dazaifu, the so-called progress to the east. The progress moved on from Ise into Mino and stopped at the temporary palace of Tagi.
The temporary palace of Tagi stood in Tagi District of Mino, near present-day Yōrō in Yōrō District, Gifu Prefecture. The fine spring there is famous because Empress Genshō visited it in Reiki 3 (717), praised its power to restore youth, and changed the era name to Yōrō, "nourishing the aged"; it became the origin of the later legend of the Yōrō Falls. Drawing on that tradition, this poem expresses the poet's emotion at seeing the famous water of youth with his own eyes, and celebrates both the land and the progress.
The poet, Ōtomo no Azumahito, was an official of the Nara period from the Ōtomo clan who accompanied this progress.

This poem and the next, 1035, both sing of the falls of Tagi and share the phrase "since days of old." This one takes up the legend of the water of youth, the next the long history of court service in this place, so that they form a pair praising the heritage of the same land from two sides.
The first line, "Since days of old," uses "yu," a particle marking a starting point, showing that the tradition has continued from ancient times.
The second line, "have people told it down the years," reads "iikeru" and expresses a tradition handed down from generation to generation.
The third line, "that the aged ones," is the subject of "regain their youth" in the fourth line.
The fourth line, "regain their youth, such water," uses the verb "otsu," "to grow young again," and the emphatic particle "zo" points strongly to this water as the very one.
The final line, "is this, the famous rapids' flow," has eight syllables instead of seven. Ending on a noun, it closes by praising the rapids before the poet's eyes.
Author: Ōtomo no Azumahito
Source: Manyoshu
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