Komoriku no toyo hatsuseji wa tokoname no kashikoki michi zo kōraku wa yume

こもりくの豊泊瀬道は常滑の
かしこき道ぞ恋ふらくはゆめ

Roma-ji: Komoriku no toyo hatsuseji wa tokoname no kashikoki michi zo kōraku wa yume
English Translation: Hidden in the hills,
the road to rich Hatsuse
is ever slippery,
a road to be feared indeed;
longing, take great care
Meaning: The road to Hatsuse, hidden among the hills, is fearsome, its rocks forever slick with moss; do not let longing make you careless.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2511

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Questions and Answers"
Since the road to Hatsuse is always slippery and fearsome, the woman begs the man who comes to her never to hurry recklessly, however much he longs for her. The poem conveys a tender care that wishes for the lover's safety even above the wish to meet.
It answers the man's preceding poem and is the second of the three poems joined by the left note "the three poems above." Against the man who boasts of his horse's speed, this poem speaks of the road's dangers and asks for caution, sharpening the contrast between the hurrying man and the anxious woman. Hatsuse is today's Hase in Sakurai City, Nara Prefecture, a land enclosed by hills.
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, "komoriku no": a pillow word attached to "Hatsuse." It means a land hidden among hills, fitting the valley setting of Hatsuse.
Second line, "toyo hatsuseji wa": "the road to Hatsuse." "Toyo," rich or abundant, is an honorific of praise, and "wa" marks the topic.
Third line, "tokoname no": "ever slick," describing rocks in a riverbed coated with moss and always smooth. "No" here means "like," leading to "kashikoki."
Fourth line, "kashikoki michi zo": "a fearsome road." The emphatic particle "zo" closes the statement, and the poem breaks after the fourth line.
Fifth line, "kōraku wa yume": "your longing, by no means." "Kōraku" is the nominalized form of the verb "kou," and after the adverb "yume" a prohibition such as "do not hurry" is left unsaid.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection
Source: Manyoshu
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