Itsushika mo kono yo no akemu uguisu no kozutai chirasu ume no hana mimu

いつしかもこの夜の明けむ鴬の
木伝ひ散らす梅の花見む

Roma-ji: Itsushika mo kono yo no akemu uguisu no kozutai chirasu ume no hana mimu
English Translation: When, oh when at last
will this long night reach its dawn?
Where the warblers flit
scattering them as they go,
I will see the plum blossoms.
Meaning: How soon will this night give way to dawn? I long to see the plum blossoms that the bush warbler scatters as it flits from branch to branch.
Commentary: Book Ten Spring Miscellaneous Poems 1873

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Flowers"
This poem waits impatiently for dawn, longing to see the plum blossoms scattered by a warbler flitting through the branches, and it closes the flower group. The lift of a heart picturing a morning scene in the darkness of night shows in the single word "itsushika mo." It uses the same motif as "the plum where the warbler flits" in 1854, the first poem of the flower group, so the group's beginning and end echo each other with the pairing of plum and warbler.

The first line, "itsushika mo," means how soon, and its longing extends through to the last line.
In the second line, "kono yo no akemu," "mu" expresses conjecture and carries the wish for an early dawn. The poem breaks here.
The third line, "the warbler," is the subject of "flitting."
The fourth line, "scattering as it flits," uses the same word "kozutau" as 1854.
In the last line, "ume no hana mimu," "mu" expresses intention, closing with the anticipation of seeing the plum at dawn.
Source: Manyoshu
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