Tadokawa no taki o kiyomi ka inishie yu miyatsukaekemu tagi no no no e ni

田跡川の滝を清みかいにしへゆ
宮仕へけむ多芸の野の上に

Roma-ji: Tadokawa no taki o kiyomi ka inishie yu miyatsukaekemu tagi no no no e ni
English Translation: The Tado River's
rapids are so pure, is it why
since days of old
they came to serve the palace
here upon the fields of Tagi
Meaning: Is it because the rapids of the Tado River are so pure that since ancient times people have come to serve at a palace here on the fields of Tagi?
Commentary: Book Six Miscellaneous Poems 1035

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem composed by Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi"
This poem praises the heritage of Tagi: is it because the rapids of the Tado River are so pure that since ancient times a palace has been built and served here on the fields of Tagi? 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. Like the preceding poem, it seems to have been composed at the temporary palace of Tagi in Mino.
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. Recalling Empress Genshō's earlier progress, this poem praises the land as a place where palaces have been set generation after generation because of its pure falls.
The poet, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, was the son of Ōtomo no Tabito and at this time served as a Palace Guard in attendance on the Emperor. He later held posts such as governor of Etchū and rose to Middle Counselor. He is a poet thought to have been deeply involved in the compilation of the Man'yōshū.

This poem shares "since days of old" with the preceding poem, 1034; where that poem sang of the legend of the water of youth, this one sings of the history of palaces in this place, praising Tagi from two sides. The idea of the purity of the rapids as the reason for a palace also echoes the pattern of the Yoshino poems of praise at the beginning of the book, with their "pure river bend."
The first line, "The Tado River's," names the river that flows through Tagi.
In the second line, "rapids are so pure, is it why," "kiyomi" is formed from the adjective "kiyoshi" with the suffix "-mi" to give a reason, and "ka" is an interrogative binding particle that answers "kemu" in the fourth line in a kakari-musubi construction.
The third line, "since days of old," uses the same words as the first line of the preceding poem, showing the antiquity of the land's heritage.
In the fourth line, "they came to serve the palace," "kemu" is the attributive form of the auxiliary of past conjecture, closing the construction begun by "ka" in the second line.
The final line, "here upon the fields of Tagi," is inverted, placing after the verb the words that would naturally precede it as the place of service. Ending on the place name, the poem praises the land of Tagi itself.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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