Sahinokuma Hinokumagawa ni uma todome uma ni mizu kae ware yoso ni mimu

さ桧隈桧隈川に馬留め
馬に水飼へ我れ外に見む

Roma-ji: Sahinokuma Hinokumagawa ni uma todome uma ni mizu kae ware yoso ni mimu
English Translation: At Hinokuma,
by the Hinokuma River,
rein in your horse,
give your horse some water there,
and I'll watch you from afar
Meaning: Stop your horse at the Hinokuma River in Hinokuma and let it drink; I will watch you from a distance.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts through Things 3097

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts through Things"
A woman wishes to gaze at a man from afar, if only while his horse drinks at the Hinokuma River. The repeated place name gives it the rhythm of a folk song, and a poem seemingly based on it appears among the kami-asobi songs of the Kokin Wakashū.
The poet is unknown. Book Twelve, titled the second part of "Love Poems Exchanged Old and New," gathers love poems by people whose names have not come down to us, arranged by category.

Line one, "sahinokuma": "sa" is a prefix, and the word names the place Hinokuma.
Line two, "Hinokumagawa ni," means "at the Hinokuma River" flowing through Hinokuma in Asuka, Nara Prefecture, the repeated place name creating a song-like rhythm.
Line three, "uma todome," means "stop your horse."
Line four, "uma ni mizu kae," means "water your horse," and the poem pauses here.
Line five, "ware yoso ni mimu," means "I will watch from afar," a woman's wish to see the man at least while his horse rests.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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