Asahano ni tachi kamusaburu suga no ne no nemokoro ta ga yue aga koinaku ni

浅葉野に立ち神さぶる菅の根の
ねもころ誰がゆゑ我が恋ひなくに

Roma-ji: Asahano ni tachi kamusaburu suga no ne no nemokoro ta ga yue aga koinaku ni
English Translation: In Asaha Moor
stands the sedge grown old and holy;
like its tangled roots,
so deeply, for whose sake else
would I ever fall in love
Meaning: Like the roots of the sedge standing old and hallowed on Asaha Moor, so deeply do I love; for whom but you would I ever love like this?
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts through Things 2863

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts through Things"
Using the old and hallowed sedge roots as an introduction, the poet insists that it is for no one but the beloved that he loves so devotedly. A variant text gives the first two lines as "ta ga hano ni tachi shinaitaru." The left note's "the above twenty-three poems" refers to the poems up to this one, closing the group from the Hitomaro Collection here.
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, "Asahano ni," is taken to be a place name, though its location is unknown.
Line two, "tachi kamusaburu," means "standing old and godlike with age."
Line three, "suga no ne no": the lines up to here form an introduction leading to "nemokoro," which shares its sound.
Line four, "nemokoro ta ga yue," means "so earnestly, for whose sake?"
Line five, "aga koinaku ni," means "I would not love," and with line four it declares that the poet would love no one but the beloved.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection
Source: Manyoshu
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