Miredo akanu hitokuniyama no ko no ha o shi waga kokoro kara natsukashimi omou

見れど飽かぬ人国山の木の葉をし
我が心からなつかしみ思ふ

Roma-ji: Miredo akanu hitokuniyama no ko no ha o shi waga kokoro kara natsukashimi omou
English Translation: Though I gaze, not sated,
on the mount of Hitokuni,
its leaves of the trees
from the depths of my own heart
I hold ever dear to me
Meaning: The leaves on Mount Hitokuni, which I never tire of gazing on—from the depths of my own heart I hold them dear.
Commentary: Book Seven Allegorical Poems 1305

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Trees"
The poet says he holds dear, from his own heart, the leaves on Mount Hitokuni, which he never tires of seeing. The name Hitokuni echoes "another's land," and the leaves are taken to stand for a woman who belongs to another man, expressing a longing he cannot help.
It is the second poem on trees and, like the preceding poem, 1304, uses "the leaves of the trees" as a figure for the beloved. Some take Mount Hitokuni to be in Kii. According to the left note it comes from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection.

The first line, "Though I gaze, not sated," means never tiring of the sight, and has an extra syllable.
The second line names Mount Hitokuni, echoing "another's land."
In the third line, "its leaves of the trees," the emphatic "shi" follows; the word is the same as in the last line of the preceding poem.
The fourth line, "from the depths of my own heart," means of his own accord.
The final line, "I hold ever dear to me," means he longs for them fondly.
Source: Manyoshu
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