Momichiba no sugimaku oshimi omoudochi asobu koyoi wa akezu mo aranu ka

黄葉の過ぎまく惜しみ思ふどち
遊ぶ今夜は明けずもあらぬか

Roma-ji: Momichiba no sugimaku oshimi omoudochi asobu koyoi wa akezu mo aranu ka
English Translation: The autumn leaves pass,
and loath to see them go by,
we of the same heart
make merry here tonight:
oh, that it might never dawn
Meaning: Grieving that the autumn leaves are passing, we friends of one heart make merry tonight; oh, if only this night would never end.
Commentary: Book Eight Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 1591

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Eleven poems from the banquet gathered by Tachibana no Ason Naramaro"
Grieving that the autumn leaves are passing, the poet wishes that this night of merriment among like-minded friends would never end. Placed last among the eleven banquet poems, it closes the sequence with the joy of the feast and regret at its ending. The note says, "The above poem is by the palace attendant Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi," followed by, "The foregoing: on the seventeenth day of the tenth month of winter, a gathering and banquet at the former residence of Lord Tachibana, Minister of the Right."
The author, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, was a son of Ōtomo no Tabito and an official of the Nara period. He rose to the post of Middle Counselor, is thought to have been closely involved in compiling the Man'yōshū, and left more poems than anyone else in the anthology.

The first line names the autumn leaves sung throughout the banquet poems.
The second line means "grieving that they pass," in the same form as "grieving that they would fall" in 1586 before it.
The third line means "friends of one heart." Like "friends who care for one another" in 1558 of this book, it expresses a gathering of close companions.
The fourth line means "this night when we make merry."
The final line is a wish formed by the negative "nu" with "ka": "would it not stay undawned?"
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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