Taki no ue no mifune no yama yu akizu e ni kinaki wataru wa tare yobukodori

滝の上の三船の山ゆ秋津辺に
来鳴き渡るは誰れ呼子鳥

Roma-ji: Taki no ue no mifune no yama yu akizu e ni kinaki wataru wa tare yobukodori
English Translation: Above the rapids,
from the mountain of Mifune
toward Akizu's fields,
the bird that crosses crying out—
whom does it call, the calling-bird?
Meaning: From Mount Mifune above the rapids toward the fields of Akizu, a bird goes crying across the sky. Whom is it calling, this calling-bird?
Commentary: Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems 1713

Headnote: "Two poems from a royal progress to the Detached Palace at Yoshino"
The poet asks the calling-bird crying its way from Mount Mifune to the fields of Akizu whom it is calling. Playing on the bird's name, the poem sketches the expanse of Yoshino's mountains and fields.
The headnote says this poem is from a royal progress to the Detached Palace at Yoshino, and the left note says the author of the two poems is unknown. Mount Mifune rises near Miyataki in Yoshino, Nara, and Akizu is a field nearby.

The first line, "above the rapids," refers to the torrent at Miyataki.
The second line, "from the mountain of Mifune," uses yu to mark the starting point.
The third line, "toward Akizu's fields," shows the bird's destination.
The fourth line, "the bird that crosses crying out," describes its flight.
The final line, "whom does it call, the calling-bird?" closes on a noun. The wit lies in taking the name yobukodori, "calling-bird," literally and asking whom it calls.
Source: Manyoshu
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