Mitsuguri no naka ni mukaeru sarashii no taezu kayowamu soko ni tsuma mo ga

三栗の那賀に向へる曝井の
絶えず通はむそこに妻もが

Roma-ji: Mitsuguri no naka ni mukaeru sarashii no taezu kayowamu soko ni tsuma mo ga
English Translation: Like three chestnuts' midst,
facing Naka there it lies,
the spring of Sarashi;
ever would I come and go,
if only a wife were there.
Meaning: Like the waters of the Sarashi spring facing Naka that never cease, I would come here without end, if only a wife of mine were there.
Commentary: Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems 1745

Headnote: "A poem on the Sarashi spring in Naka District"
As the waters of the Sarashi spring at Naka flow without ceasing, so the speaker would come without ceasing, if only a wife were there. Praising a famous spot, he turns the loneliness of travel into a wish for a wife.
The Sarashi spring was in Naka District of Hitachi (around present-day Mito, Ibaraki). According to the Hitachi Fudoki, village women bleached cloth there, hence its name. The image of women gathering at the spring stirs the wish for a wife.
The author, Takahashi no Mushimaro, was a poet of the early Nara period who is thought to have served under Fujiwara no Umakai when Umakai was governor of Hitachi. He excelled at long poems on local legends and the landscape of the eastern provinces. This poem is taken from the Mushimaro Collection, which is thought to consist mainly of his own works.

The first line, "like three chestnuts' midst," is a pillow word for Naka, since the middle of three nuts in a burr is called naka.
The second line, "facing Naka there it lies," means facing the land of Naka.
The third line, "the spring of Sarashi," names the bleaching spring; the lines so far form a preface leading to "ever," as its water never fails.
The fourth line, "ever would I come and go," uses the volitional mu.
The final line, "if only a wife were there," uses the desiderative moga.
Author: Takahashi no Mushimaro (from the Mushimaro Collection)
Source: Manyoshu
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