Hototogisu itou toki nashi ayamegusa kazura ni semu hi koyu nakiwatare

霍公鳥いとふ時なしあやめぐさ
かづらにせむ日こゆ鳴き渡れ

Roma-ji: Hototogisu itou toki nashi ayamegusa kazura ni semu hi koyu nakiwatare
English Translation: Hototogisu,
never is there time I tire;
iris-grass we'll wear
twined as garlands on that day—
come across this way and sing.
Meaning: O hototogisu, there is never a time I tire of you—but on the day we wear iris as garlands, come singing across this way.
Commentary: Book Ten Summer Miscellaneous Poems 1955

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Birds"
This poem says the hototogisu's voice is always welcome, but especially on the festival of the fifth day of the Fifth Month, when iris is worn as garlands, it wishes the bird to sing across this way. It expresses the wish to adorn the festival day with the bird's voice. Like 1939, which wished to thread the first song into the Fifth Month herbal balls, it links the festival of the Fifth Month with the hototogisu.

The first line, "hototogisu," is the one addressed.
The second line, "there is no time I dislike you," breaks the poem after the second line.
The third line, "ayamegusa," is the iris, worn in the hair or placed under the eaves at the festival of the fifth day of the Fifth Month.
The fourth line, "the day we make garlands," refers to that festival day.
In the last line, "koyu nakiwatare," "koyu" means by way of here and "watare" is an imperative, closing with a plea for the festival day.
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Hototogisu kii mo nakanu ka waga yado no hanatachibana no tsuchi ni ochimu mimu
Next Poem: Yamato ni wa nakite ka kuramu hototogisu na ga naku goto ni naki hito omōyu