Asukagawa momichiba nagaru katsuragi no yama no ko no ha wa ima shi chirurashi

明日香川黄葉流る葛城の
山の木の葉は今し散るらし

Roma-ji: Asukagawa momichiba nagaru katsuragi no yama no ko no ha wa ima shi chirurashi
English Translation: On the Asuka
crimson leaves are floating down;
at Katsuragi
on the mountain, leaves of trees
must be scattering just now.
Meaning: Autumn leaves are floating down the Asuka River—the leaves on the trees of Mount Katsuragi must be scattering right now.
Commentary: Book Ten Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 2210

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Autumn Leaves"
Seeing autumn leaves floating down the Asuka River, this poem infers that the leaves on the trees of Mount Katsuragi must be scattering right now. From the scene before the eyes of leaves on the river, it imagines leaves falling on a distant mountain, joining near and far into one. Like 2185, where leaves stream on Mount Futakami, it sings of leaves carried by water.

The first line, "the Asuka River," names the river flowing through Asuka.
The second line, "autumn leaves float," breaks the poem after the second line.
The third line, "of Katsuragi," names Mount Katsuragi on the Yamato-Kawachi border.
The fourth line, "the leaves of the mountain trees," names what falls.
In the last line, "ima shi chirurashi," "shi" is emphatic and "rashi" marks grounded inference, closing by inferring from the floating leaves that the mountain's leaves are falling.
Source: Manyoshu
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