Waga seko to futari shi oraba yama takami sato ni wa tsuki wa terazu tomo yoshi

我が背子とふたりし居らば山高み
里には月は照らずともよし

Roma-ji: Waga seko to futari shi oraba yama takami sato ni wa tsuki wa terazu tomo yoshi
English Translation: If with you, my friend,
the two of us are together,
let the hills be high,
and though upon the village
no moon may shine, it is well
Meaning: If only you and I can be here together, my friend, then though the hills are high and the moon does not shine upon the village, it is well.
Commentary: Book Six Miscellaneous Poems 1039

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Two poems by Takaoka no Muraji Kawachi"
This poem sings of the joy of having a companion: as long as the two friends can be together, it does not matter if the hills are so high that the moonlight never reaches the village. It expresses the feeling that being with a kindred spirit is worth more than gazing at the moon.
The headnote reads "Two poems by Takaoka no Muraji Kawachi," and since they are placed among the poems of the Kuni capital period, they are thought to date from around that time. One can picture a night spent with a friend in a village among the hills around Kuni, where the moon rises late.
The poet, Takaoka no Kawachi, came from a family of immigrants from Paekche. Originally called Sasanami no Kawachi, he was granted the surname Takaoka no Muraji in Jinki 1 (724). He served as Assistant Master of the Right Capital, Assistant Minister of Palace Construction, and Head of the State Academy, and was known as a learned official.

Where the preceding poem, 1038, longs for a home cut off by a single ridge, this one says that even in a village surrounded by hills where the moon does not shine, being together with a friend is enough, turning the same separation by mountains from loneliness to contentment.
The first line, "If with you, my friend," uses "seko," a word for a close male companion, here thought to mean a dear friend.
In the second line, "the two of us are together," "shi" is an emphatic particle, and "-ba" attached to the irrealis form expresses a hypothetical condition.
The third line, "let the hills be high," renders "yama takami," the stem of the adjective "takashi" with the suffix "-mi" giving the reason: because the hills are high.
The fourth line, "and though upon the village," repeats the topic particle "wa" to set off both the village and the moon.
The final line, "no moon may shine, it is well," uses "tomo," expressing a concessive supposition. It closes by stating firmly that even without the pleasure of the moon, a friend's company is enough.
Author: Takaoka no Kawachi
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Furusato wa tōku mo arazu hitoeyama koyuru ga kara ni omoi zo waga seshi
Next Poem: Hisakata no ame wa furishike omou ko ga yado ni koyoi wa akashite yukamu