Kono yama no momichi ga shita no hana o ware hatsuhatsu ni mite nao koinikeri

この山の黄葉が下の花を我れ
はつはつに見てなほ恋ひにけり

Roma-ji: Kono yama no momichi ga shita no hana o ware hatsuhatsu ni mite nao koinikeri
English Translation: Upon this mountain
beneath the yellow leaves,
the flower that I
caught but a fleeting glimpse of—
still more have I come to love
Meaning: I caught only the faintest glimpse of the flower beneath the yellow leaves on this mountain—and yet my longing has grown all the stronger.
Commentary: Book Seven Allegorical Poems 1306

Headnote: "On Flowers"
Having caught only a fleeting glimpse of the flower beneath the yellow leaves on the mountain, the poet finds his longing all the greater. The flower hidden under the leaves stands for a woman hidden from view, and the poem is taken to express how a brief sight of her only deepened his love.
It is the single poem under the heading "On Flowers." Following the leaves of the trees in the two preceding poems, it sings of a flower beneath the yellow leaves. According to the left note it comes from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection.

The first line, "Upon this mountain," points to the mountain before him.
The second line, "beneath the yellow leaves," continues from "the leaves of the trees" in the two preceding poems.
The third line, "the flower that I," uses the flower as a figure for the woman.
The fourth line, "caught but a fleeting glimpse of," means seeing her only slightly.
In the final line, "nikeri" adds exclamation to the perfective: "I have come to love her even more."
Source: Manyoshu
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