Makimuku no anashi no kawa yu yuku mizu no tayuru koto naku mata kaerimimu

巻向の穴師の川ゆ行く水の
絶ゆることなくまたかへり見む

Roma-ji: Makimuku no anashi no kawa yu yuku mizu no tayuru koto naku mata kaerimimu
English Translation: As at Makimuku
through the river Anashi
the waters flow
never ceasing, so will I
come back and see it again
Meaning: Like the water flowing down the Anashi River at Makimuku, never ceasing, so will I come back again and again to see this place.
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1100

Headnote: "On Rivers"
Drawing on the unbroken flow of the Anashi River, the poet vows to return to this place again and again. The first three lines form an introductory phrase leading to "never ceasing," so that the constancy of the stream overlaps with the vow to come back.
It is the first poem under the heading "On Rivers." The last line, "come back and see it again," also appears in poems 1114 and 1183 in this book and is a set closing for poems praising a place.
The left note says, "The two poems above come from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection," so this and the next poem come from that collection.

The first line, "As at Makimuku," names the district in the southeast of the Nara basin.
In the second line, "through the river Anashi," "yu" marks the route. It is the same river as "the Anashi" in poem 1087 in this book.
The third line, "the waters flow," means "like the flowing water"; the first three lines form the introductory phrase.
The fourth line, "never ceasing," turns from the flowing water of the introduction to mean "without end."
In the final line, "come back and see it again," "mu" expresses intention. The same line is used in poems 1114 and 1183 in this book.
Source: Manyoshu
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