Oto ni kiki me ni wa imada minu yoshinogawa mutsuta no yodo o kyō mitsuru kamo

音に聞き目にはいまだ見ぬ吉野川
六田の淀を今日見つるかも

Roma-ji: Oto ni kiki me ni wa imada minu yoshinogawa mutsuta no yodo o kyō mitsuru kamo
English Translation: I had heard its fame
yet never with my own eyes
seen the Yoshino,
the quiet pools of Mutsuta—
but today at last I've seen them
Meaning: I had heard of it but never seen it with my own eyes—the still pools of the Yoshino River at Mutsuta. Today at last I have seen them.
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1105

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Rivers"
This poem conveys the thrill of seeing for the first time the still pools of the Yoshino River at Mutsuta, known until now only by reputation. The joy of actually seeing a famous place is frankly expressed.
Its structure closely resembles poem 1092 in this book, "Only by report had I heard of the cypress hills of Makimuku—today I have seen them," sharing the pattern of seeing today what one had only heard of. It also has the same last line as poem 1103. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "I had heard its fame," corresponds to "only rumor had I heard" in poem 1092.
The second line, "yet never with my own eyes," contrasts eyes with the "hearing" of the first line. It has an extra syllable.
The third line names the Yoshino River, flowing through southern Nara.
The fourth line refers to the still pools near Mutsuta on the Yoshino River, in present-day Yoshino Town.
The final line, shared with poems 1092 and 1103, expresses the excitement of seeing with one's own eyes.
Source: Manyoshu
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