Ima tsukuru kuni no miyako wa yamakawa no sayakeki mireba ube shirasurashi

今造る久迩の都は山川の
さやけき見ればうべ知らすらし

Roma-ji: Ima tsukuru kuni no miyako wa yamakawa no sayakeki mireba ube shirasurashi
English Translation: Being built even now,
the capital at Kuni,
when its hills and streams
in their clear brightness I see,
well may our lord reign here
Meaning: The capital of Kuni now being built: when I see how clear and bright its hills and rivers are, I understand why our sovereign rules from here.
Commentary: Book Six Miscellaneous Poems 1037

Headnote: "A poem composed by the Palace Guard Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi in praise of the capital at Kuni, on the sixteenth day of the eighth month of autumn in the fifteenth year, mizunoto-hitsuji"
This poem praises the new capital: seeing how clear and bright the hills and rivers of Kuni are, now being built, the poet finds it only fitting that the Emperor should rule the realm from here. According to the headnote, it was composed by Ōtomo no Yakamochi, then a Palace Guard, in praise of the Kuni capital on the sixteenth day of the eighth month of autumn in Tenpyō 15 (743).
The Kuni capital was built by Emperor Shōmu in Sagaraka District of Yamashiro after the progress to the east in Tenpyō 12 (740), near present-day Kamo in Kizugawa City, Kyoto Prefecture. Construction was still under way when this poem was composed. Praising the site of the capital for the purity of its hills and rivers follows the pattern of court poems of praise such as those on Yoshino.
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.

The idea of the purity of hills and rivers as proof of a fine site for the capital echoes the Yoshino poems of praise at the beginning of the book, 907 and 908, with their "pure river bend," and resonates with 1035 in this book, which made the purity of the rapids the reason for a palace.
The first line, "Being built even now," shows that the Kuni capital was still under construction.
The second line, "the capital at Kuni," names the new capital built in Yamashiro.
The third line, "when its hills and streams," presents the natural scenery surrounding the capital and leads on to "clear brightness" in the fourth line.
The fourth line, "in their clear brightness I see," uses the attributive form of "sayakeshi" as a noun, and "mireba" expresses an established condition.
The final line, "well may our lord reign here," uses "ube," expressing agreement that something is only natural, "shirasu," an honorific of "shiru" meaning to rule, and "rashi," an auxiliary of conjecture based on evidence. Taking the scene of the fourth line as its grounds, it closes by praising the site of the capital.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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