Nubatama no yogiri wa tachinu koromode no takaya no ue ni tanabiku made ni

ぬばたまの夜霧は立ちぬ衣手の
高屋の上にたなびくまでに

Roma-ji: Nubatama no yogiri wa tachinu koromode no takaya no ue ni tanabiku made ni
English Translation: Black as jewel-seed,
the night mist has risen now;
like a sleeve, Takaya—
over the heights of Takaya
until it trails across them.
Meaning: The night mist has risen, until it trails across the heights of Takaya.
Commentary: Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems 1706

Headnote: "A poem by Prince Toneri"
The night mist rises until it trails over the heights of Takaya. The poem captures, simply and on a broad scale, mist spreading through the darkness.
The headnote names this as a poem by Prince Toneri himself, placed right after the two poems presented to him. The location of Takaya is uncertain; one view places it near Sakurai, Nara. The poem was included in the Hitomaro Collection.
The author, Prince Toneri, was a son of Emperor Tenmu and presided over the compilation of the Nihon Shoki.

The first line, nubatama no, is a pillow word for night; nubatama are the black seeds of the blackberry lily.
The second line, "the night mist has risen now," pauses the poem. Following "the mountain mists of Tamu" in 1704, poems of mist are placed side by side.
The third line, koromode no, "sleeve," is taken as a pillow word for Takaya, though how it connects is disputed.
The fourth line, "over the heights of Takaya," names where the mist lies.
The final line, "until it trails across them," shows the spread of the mist at the end in inversion.
Author: Prince Toneri
Source: Manyoshu
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