Uchinabiku haru kitaru rashi yama no ma no tōki konure no sakiyuku mireba

うち靡く春来るらし山の際の
遠き木末の咲きゆく見れば

Roma-ji: Uchinabiku haru kitaru rashi yama no ma no tōki konure no sakiyuku mireba
English Translation: Swaying in the breeze,
spring, it seems, has now arrived,
for between the hills
I see the far-off treetops
bursting one by one in bloom
Meaning: Spring seems to have come, for I see the distant treetops between the hills bursting one after another into bloom.
Commentary: Book Eight Spring Miscellaneous Poems 1422

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Two poems by Owari no Muraji [his name is missing]"
Seeing the distant treetops between the hills come into bloom one after another, the poet realizes that spring has arrived. While the preceding poem caught a girl close at hand, this one widens the gaze to the far-off trees on the hills.
The author, Owari no Muraji, was a man of the Owari clan holding the rank-title muraji. The headnote says his name is missing, and it is not known.

The first line, "uchinabiku," is a pillow word for "spring," drawn from the swaying of grasses and trees in that season.
The second line uses the inferential "rashi," a conjecture based on evidence. The poem pauses here, and the evidence is given in inverted order below.
The third line, "yama no ma," means the space between hills.
The fourth line names the distant treetops. Paired with the close view of "the girl's white cords" in the preceding poem, the two poems survey near and far.
The final line, "seeing them bloom one after another," supplies the grounds for the "rashi" of the second line. In "sakiyuku" one senses spring advancing moment by moment from afar.
Author: Owari no Muraji
Source: Manyoshu
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