Toshitsuki mo imada henaku ni asukagawa sese yu watashishi ishibashi mo nashi

年月もいまだ経なくに明日香川
瀬々ゆ渡しし石橋もなし

Roma-ji: Toshitsuki mo imada henaku ni asukagawa sese yu watashishi ishibashi mo nashi
English Translation: Not so many years
or months have passed since then,
yet in Asuka River
the stepping stones laid across
from shoal to shoal are gone
Meaning: Not so many months and years have gone by, yet the stepping stones once laid across the shallows of the Asuka River are gone.
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1126

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Thinking of My Old Home"
The poet laments that though not many years have passed since the capital moved, the stepping stones laid in the shallows of the Asuka River are already gone. The decline of the old capital, where people no longer come and go, is shown concretely through a single detail.
Like the preceding poem, it falls under "Thinking of My Old Home"; where that poem imagined the lovely scenery of home, this one sings of home utterly changed. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "Not so many years," means the passing months and years.
The second line, "or months have passed since then," uses "naku ni," a nominalized negative with "ni," as a concessive: "though they have not yet passed."
The third line names the Asuka River flowing through Asuka, giving concrete form to the "Kamunabi village" of the preceding poem.
In the fourth line, "yu" marks passage: "laid across from shoal to shoal."
In the final line, "ishibashi" refers to stepping stones set in the shallows. "Mo" (even) laments that even these are gone.
Source: Manyoshu
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