Miyoshino no iwamoto sarazu naku kawazu ube mo nakikeri kawa o sayakemi

み吉野の岩もとさらず鳴くかはづ
うべも鳴きけり川をさやけみ

Roma-ji: Miyoshino no iwamoto sarazu naku kawazu ube mo nakikeri kawa o sayakemi
English Translation: In fair Yoshino
never leaving the rock's foot,
the kajika sing—
it is fitting that they sing,
for the river runs so clear.
Meaning: The kajika frogs of fair Yoshino sing without leaving the foot of the rocks—no wonder they sing, for the river is so clear.
Commentary: Book Ten Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 2161

Headnote: "On Singing Frogs"
This poem hears the kajika frogs singing without leaving the foot of the rocks in the Yoshino River and accepts that they sing because the river is so clear. Its headnote is "On Singing Frogs." The clear stream and the frogs' limpid voices resonate, praising the purity of the Yoshino River. Like "the Yoshino River where kajika sing" in 1868 of the spring poems, it sings of the pairing of Yoshino and the kajika frog.

In the first line, "miyoshino no," "mi" is an honorific prefix: of Yoshino.
The second line, "never leaving the foot of the rocks," describes where they sing.
In the third line, "naku kawazu," "kawazu" is the kajika frog of clear streams; the poem breaks here.
In the fourth line, "ube mo nakikeri," "ube" means fittingly, no wonder, and "keri" expresses realization.
In the last line, "kawa o sayakemi," "sayakeshi" means clear and "mi" marks cause; by inversion it gives the reason for their singing at the end.
Source: Manyoshu
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