Nubatama no yo wataru kari wa ōhoshiku ikuyo o hete ka ono ga na o noru

ぬばたまの夜渡る雁はおほほしく
幾夜を経てかおのが名を告る

Roma-ji: Nubatama no yo wataru kari wa ōhoshiku ikuyo o hete ka ono ga na o noru
English Translation: Black as leopard-seeds,
wild geese crossing through the night,
dim and faint of sound,
after how many nights passed
do they call their names aloud?
Meaning: The wild geese crossing the black night sky, dim and faint—after how many nights of travel do they call out their own name?
Commentary: Book Ten Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 2139

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Wild Geese"
This poem sings of geese crossing the night sky, crying as if announcing their own name after many nights. There is wit in hearing the geese's cry, "kari," as the voice of birds announcing their name. In the geese's voices crossing the dark of night, the poet pictures birds that have traveled from afar.

The first line, "nubatama no," is a pillow word attached to "night."
The second line, "the geese crossing by night," names the birds.
The third line, "ōhoshiku," means dimly, indistinctly.
In the fourth line, "ikuyo o hete ka," "ka" is an interrogative particle in kakari-musubi with "noru" in the last line.
The last line, "ono ga na o noru," announce their own name, closes by hearing the geese's voice as naming themselves "kari."
Source: Manyoshu
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