Kasugano no fuji wa chirinite nani o ka mo mikari no hito no orite kazasamu

春日野の藤は散りにて何をかも
み狩の人の折りてかざさむ

Roma-ji: Kasugano no fuji wa chirinite nani o ka mo mikari no hito no orite kazasamu
English Translation: On Kasuga Plain
the wisteria has fallen;
what then will they take,
those who go out on the hunt,
to break and wear in their hair?
Meaning: The wisteria of Kasuga Plain has already fallen—what will the people on the royal hunt break off to wear in their hair?
Commentary: Book Ten Summer Miscellaneous Poems 1974

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Flowers"
This poem wonders what those going out on the herb hunt will pick to wear in their hair now that the wisteria of Kasuga Plain has fallen. It suggests that at the herb-gathering hunt of the fifth day of the Fifth Month there was a custom of wearing flowers in the hair. Regret at the passing of the season's flowers and thoughts of the festive event overlap.

The first line, "of Kasuga Plain," names the plain east of the Nara capital.
In the second line, "fuji wa chirinite," "ni" marks completion: the wisteria has fallen.
In the third line, "nani o ka mo," "ka mo" is an interrogative particle in kakari-musubi with "mu" in the last line.
In the fourth line, "mikari no hito no," "mikari" is thought to refer to the herb hunt held on the fifth day of the Fifth Month; the line is hypermetric.
In the last line, "orite kazasamu," "kazasu" means to wear in the hair, closing by wondering what they will wear.
Source: Manyoshu
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