Asukagawa seze no tamamo no uchinabiki kokoro wa imo ni yorinikeru kamo

明日香川瀬々の玉藻のうち靡き
心は妹に寄りにけるかも

Roma-ji: Asukagawa seze no tamamo no uchinabiki kokoro wa imo ni yorinikeru kamo
English Translation: In Asuka River,
like the jewel-weed in each rapid
swaying with the stream,
my heart has drawn toward her
and leaned to her entirely
Meaning: Like the lovely water-weed swaying in each rapid of the Asuka River, my heart has been drawn wholly toward her.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems 3267

Headnote: "Envoy"
This is the envoy to the chōka (3266). Using the jewel-weed swaying in the rapids of the Asuka River as an introduction, it sings that the heart has leaned entirely toward the beloved. The chōka depicts the sacred hill, flowering in spring and crimson in autumn, and the Asuka River that girds it like a sash, and rejoices at last in meeting a hidden wife toward whom the heart leaned like water-weed in the swift current. The envoy condenses the chōka’s introduction, laying the heart’s inclination over the weed that bends with the stream.
The poet is unknown. Book Thirteen is built mainly of anonymous chōka and their envoys, and many of its poems preserve the air of old songs and ritual verse.

The first line, “Asukagawa,” is the river flowing through Asuka, taking up the chōka’s “Asuka River.”
The second line, “seze no tamamo no,” means “the fine water-weed in each rapid,” with “tama” an honorific prefix; the particle “no” here means “like.”
The third line, “uchinabiki,” means swaying with the current; up to here the lines form an introduction to the heart’s leaning. It uses the same expression as the chōka’s “swaying, my heart leaned.”
The fourth line, “kokoro wa imo ni,” means “my heart toward her,” turning from the introductory scene to the theme of love.
The closing line, “yorinikeru kamo,” means “how it has leaned,” layering the perfective “nu,” the past “keri” and the exclamatory “kamo” to express deep feeling.
Source: Manyoshu
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