Kawazu naku mutsuta no kawa no kawayagi no nemokoro miredo akanu kawa kamo

かわづ鳴く六田の川の川柳の
ねもころ見れど飽かぬ川かも

Roma-ji: Kawazu naku mutsuta no kawa no kawayagi no nemokoro miredo akanu kawa kamo
English Translation: Where the river frogs sing,
at the Mutsuta River's side
the river willows—
to their roots I gaze and gaze,
never tiring of this stream.
Meaning: Where the river frogs sing, the willows grow by the Mutsuta River. Deep as their roots, I gaze and gaze, and never tire of this river.
Commentary: Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems 1723

Headnote: "A poem by Kinu"
The poet praises the Mutsuta River in Yoshino, where the river frogs sing, as a river one never tires of gazing at intently. The first three lines form a preface: through the roots, ne, of the river willows they lead to nemokoro, "intently."
Mutsuta lies along the Yoshino River in Ōyodo, Yoshino District, Nara, and has long been a ferry crossing. According to the left note, the poem comes from the Hitomaro Collection.
The author, Kinu, is otherwise unknown; some take the name to be that of a woman.

The first line, "where the river frogs sing," evokes the voices of the kajika frogs of clear streams.
The second line, "at the Mutsuta River's side," names the stretch of the Yoshino at Mutsuta.
The third line, "the river willows," leads through their roots to nemokoro, completing the preface.
The fourth line, "to their roots I gaze and gaze," means gazing intently.
The final line, "never tiring of this stream," attaches the praise "never tiring" of 1711 and 1721 to the river itself.
Author: Kinu
Source: Manyoshu
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