Yamagawa no mizukage ni ouru yamasuge no yamazu mo imo wa omōyuru kamo

山川の水陰に生ふる山菅の
やまずも妹は思ほゆるかも

Roma-ji: Yamagawa no mizukage ni ouru yamasuge no yamazu mo imo wa omōyuru kamo
English Translation: By a mountain stream
in the shadow of the water
grows the mountain sedge;
never ceasing, so my love
keeps rising in my thoughts
Meaning: Like the mountain sedge growing in the shade beside a mountain stream, my beloved comes to mind without ceasing.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts through Things 2862

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts through Things"
Using the mountain sedge growing quietly in the shade of a mountain stream as an introduction, the poem sings of thinking of the beloved without ceasing. The echo between "yamasuge" and "yamazu" impresses on us the unending nature of the feeling.
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro was a court poet who served under Empress Jitō and Emperor Monmu. The left note shows that this poem was taken from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection, though scholars differ on whether it is Hitomaro's own work or a song he recorded.

Line one, "yamagawa no," refers to a river flowing through the mountains.
Line two, "mizukage ni ouru," means "growing in the shade by the water."
Line three, "yamasuge no": the lines up to here form an introduction leading by sound repetition to "yamazu," unceasing. Poem 3066 in this book uses the same device in "yamasuge no yamazu ya koimu."
Line four, "yamazu mo imo wa," means "without ceasing, my beloved."
Line five, "omōyuru kamo," means "comes to mind of itself," with "yu" expressing spontaneity.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection
Source: Manyoshu
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