Yū sareba higurashi kinaku Ikomayama koete zo a ga kuru imo ga me o hori

夕さればひぐらし来鳴く生駒山
越えてぞ我が来る妹が目を欲り

Roma-ji: Yū sareba higurashi kinaku Ikomayama koete zo a ga kuru imo ga me o hori
English Translation: When evening falls
the cicadas come and cry
on Mount Ikoma;
over it I have come
longing to see my love
Meaning: Over Mount Ikoma, where the evening cicadas come to cry as night draws on, I have crossed and come here, longing only to see my wife.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Poems of the Envoys to Silla 3589

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "The envoys sent to Silla grieve at parting and exchange poems, express their sorrowful feelings on the sea route, and recite old poems suited to the places they pass"
The poem tells of crossing Mount Ikoma at dusk, from Naniwa where the ship awaited departure, to visit his wife in Nara. The loneliness of the mountain road echoing with evening cicadas, and the single-minded longing to see her nonetheless, are gathered by inversion into the last line. The next poem, 3590, uses the same phrase, "koete zo a ga kuru," so that two poems are set side by side expressing the heart that hurries home to a wife during the busy days before departure.
The author, Hata no Hashimaro, was a member of the embassy to Silla, but nothing further is known of his rank or office.

First line, "yū sareba": "saru" means time's coming round; whenever evening falls.
Second line, "higurashi kinaku": the higurashi is a cicada that cries "kana-kana" at dusk, its voice heightening the loneliness of the mountain crossing.
Third line, "Ikomayama": the mountain on the border of Yamato and Kawachi, crossed by the road between Naniwa and Nara. Up to here the mountain he crossed is described.
Fourth line, "koete zo a ga kuru": "zo" is a binding particle, resolved by the attributive "kuru" (kakarimusubi). The same line is placed at the end of the next poem, 3590.
Fifth line, "imo ga me o hori": "me" (eyes) means the person's presence, meeting, and "horu" to desire: longing to see my wife. It is inverted with the fourth line, revealing the reason for the crossing at the very end.
Author: Hata no Hashimaro
Source: Manyoshu
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