Aki sareba kawagiri tateru amanogawa kawa ni mukiite kouru yo zo ōki

秋されば川霧立てる天の川
川に向き居て恋ふる夜ぞ多き

Roma-ji: Aki sareba kawagiri tateru amanogawa kawa ni mukiite kouru yo zo ōki
English Translation: When the autumn comes,
there the river mists arise—
the Heavenly River;
facing it, I sit and yearn,
and the nights of this are many.
Meaning: When autumn comes, river mist rises on the Heavenly River, and many are the nights I sit facing that river, longing.
Commentary: Book Ten Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 2030

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Tanabata"
This poem laments the many nights spent longing, facing the Heavenly River where river mist rises in autumn. Even when autumn, the season of meeting, arrives, there is only one night to meet, and the nights spent longing facing the river far outnumber it. Against the night of meeting in the preceding poem, this one sings of the many nights without meeting, contrasting one night with many.
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro was a court poet of the Asuka period, active under Empress Jitō and Emperor Monmu. The left note records that this poem comes from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection, and it is uncertain whether it is Hitomaro's own work or a poem by someone else that he recorded.

The first line, "when autumn comes," marks the season.
In the second line, "kawagiri tateru," "ru" is the attributive of "ri": where river mist rises.
The third line, "the Heavenly River," is a noun gathering up the scene of the upper lines.
The fourth line, "sitting facing the river," shows the posture of longing.
In the last line, "kouru yo zo ōki," "zo" is an emphatic particle in kakari-musubi with the attributive "ōki"; the line is hypermetric, closing with a lament at how many nights are spent in longing.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Source: Manyoshu
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