Kuru michi wa iwa fumu yama wa naku mo ga mo waga matsu kimi ga uma tsumazuku ni

来る道は岩踏む山はなくもがも
我が待つ君が馬つまづくに

Roma-ji: Kuru michi wa iwa fumu yama wa naku mo ga mo waga matsu kimi ga uma tsumazuku ni
English Translation: On the way you come,
may there be no mountain where
one treads over rock;
for the horse of you I wait for
would surely stumble on the stones
Meaning: On the road you travel to me, I wish there were no mountains with rocks to tread, for the horse of the one I await might stumble.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2421

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
Spoken from a woman's position, the poem wishes that the road her lover travels had no steep mountain of rocks to tread over, for the horse of the man she waits for might stumble. Tender concern for his safety overlaps with the waiting heart that wants him to come soon.
This poem speaks through a mountain. The next poem, 2422, says "though there is no mountain with rocks to tread that parts us," yet the lovers cannot meet, so the two form a pair. This poem is that of one who waits and fears the mountain, while the next laments not meeting though there is no mountain, and they are also linked by the words "iwa fumu" and "iwane fumi."
The author is unknown; according to the left note, the poem comes from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection. That collection is thought to contain both Hitomaro's own poems and poems by others that he recorded. Kakinomoto no Hitomaro was a court poet active in the reigns of Empress Jito and Emperor Monmu, and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "kuru michi wa": "on the way you come." From the waiting side, the speaker thinks of the road her lover travels.
Second line, "iwa fumu yama wa": "a mountain where one treads on rocks," that is, a steep mountain road. It corresponds to "iwane fumi" in the next poem.
Third line, "naku mo ga mo": "if only there were none." "Mo ga mo" is a final particle expressing a wish, and the poem pauses here.
Fourth line, "waga matsu kimi ga": "of you, for whom I wait." The address "kimi" suggests the poem is a woman's.
Fifth line, "uma tsumazuku ni": "for your horse would stumble." "Ni" gives the reason, and by inversion the reason for the wish in the third line is stated afterward.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection
Source: Manyoshu
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