Yama takami yūhi kakurinu asajihara nochi mimu tame ni shime yuwamashi o

山高み夕日隠りぬ浅茅原
後見むために標結はましを

Roma-ji: Yama takami yūhi kakurinu asajihara nochi mimu tame ni shime yuwamashi o
English Translation: The hills are so high
that the evening sun has hid;
on this reed-grass plain,
that I might see it later,
I should have tied my marker rope
Meaning: The mountains are so high that the evening sun has hidden—I should have tied a marker rope on this field of cogon grass so that I could see it later.
Commentary: Book Seven Allegorical Poems 1342

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Grasses"
Because the mountains are high the evening sun has hidden, and the speaker regrets not having tied a marker on the field of cogon grass so as to see it later. The field stands for a young girl he loves and tying a marker for claiming her as his own, expressing regret at a missed chance.
It is one of the poems on grasses. The regret at not having set a marker is the same as in poem 1337 in this book, and the last line, "I should have tied my marker rope," has the same form as that poem's fourth line, "I would have staked out my claim." Roping off cogon grass also appears in poem 1347. The poet is unknown.

In the first line, "The hills are so high," the suffix "mi" expresses cause: "because the mountains are high."
The second line, "that the evening sun has hid," completes a statement, and the poem pauses here.
The third line names a plain of short cogon grass, corresponding to the cogon grass of poem 1347 in this book.
The fourth line, "that I might see it later," states the purpose.
In the final line, "mashi o" is counterfactual: "I should have tied it." It has the same form as "I would have staked out my claim" in the fourth line of poem 1337 in this book.
Source: Manyoshu
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