Kasugano no asaji ga ue ni omou dochi asobu kyō no hi wasuraeme ya mo

春日野の浅茅が上に思ふどち
遊ぶ今日の日忘らえめやも

Roma-ji: Kasugano no asaji ga ue ni omou dochi asobu kyō no hi wasuraeme ya mo
English Translation: On Kasuga Plain
on the short and tender grass,
friends of kindred heart
playing on this day of days—
how could it be forgotten?
Meaning: On the short grass of Kasuga Plain, together with friends dear to my heart, we played today—how could I ever forget this day?
Commentary: Book Ten Spring Miscellaneous Poems 1880

Headnote: "An Outing in the Fields"
This poem declares that the joy of this day spent playing with dear friends on the short grass of Kasuga Plain will never be forgotten, and it stands at the head of the group headed "An Outing in the Fields." The delight of a spring outing in the fields, a pastime of people of the capital, is plainly expressed. Set on the Kasuga Plain where the preceding poem watched maidens picking greens from afar, here the poet himself plays in the fields with friends.

The first line, "of Kasuga Plain," is the same place as the preceding poem, the two sharing a setting.
In the second line, "asaji ga ue ni," "asaji" is short cogon grass, showing people sitting and playing on the young grass of the spring fields.
In the third line, "omou dochi," "dochi" means companions, giving the sense of friends of like mind. The same word appears in 1882.
The fourth line, "this day we play," is hypermetric.
In the last line, "wasuraeme ya mo," "e" expresses possibility and "me ya mo" is rhetorical, closing firmly: could I forget it? never.
Source: Manyoshu
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