Ashikiyama konure kotogoto asu yori wa nabikite ari koso imo ga atari mimu

悪木山木末ことごと明日よりは
靡きてありこそ妹があたり見む

Roma-ji: Ashikiyama konure kotogoto asu yori wa nabikite ari koso imo ga atari mimu
English Translation: Treetops, every one
on Mount Ashiki, from tomorrow
on, I beg of you,
bend low and stay bent down
so I may see where my love lives
Meaning: All you treetops on Mount Ashiki, from tomorrow on bow down and stay bowed, so that I may see the place where my beloved lives.
Commentary: Book Twelve Thoughts Arising on Journeys 3155

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Thoughts Arising on Journeys"
Setting out on a journey, the poet calls on the treetops of Mount Ashiki to bow down from tomorrow so that the place where his wife lives can be seen. The bold idea of addressing the mountain's trees reveals the strength of his longing for the home he is leaving behind.
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, "Ashikiyama," is thought to be a mountain near Chikushino, Fukuoka Prefecture.
Line two, "konure kotogoto," means "every treetop."
Line three, "asu yori wa," means "from tomorrow."
Line four, "nabikite ari koso," means "bow down and stay so," with "koso" expressing a wish. The poem pauses here.
Line five, "imo ga atari mimu," means "so I may see where my wife lives," calling on the trees in hope of seeing toward home.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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