Momichiba no chirinamu yama ni yadorinuru kimi o matsuramu hito shi kanashi mo

黄葉の散りなむ山に宿りぬる
君を待つらむ人し悲しも

Roma-ji: Momichiba no chirinamu yama ni yadorinuru kimi o matsuramu hito shi kanashi mo
English Translation: On the mountain where
the yellow leaves will scatter
you have made your lodging;
those who still wait for you there,
how sad it is to think of them
Meaning: You have taken your lodging on the mountain where the yellow leaves will soon scatter; how sad to think of those who are still waiting for you.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Poems of the Envoys to Silla 3693

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Two envoys"
An elegy grieving for the family who must be waiting, unaware of his death, for Yakamaro, now buried on the mountain where the yellow leaves scatter. Overlaying the fragility of human life on the scattering leaves, it focuses not on the dead man himself but on pity for the family left behind. Taking up "matsuramu kimi" from the preceding poem, it shifts at the close to the grief of the waiting family.
The author, Fujii no Kooyu, also written Fujii no Muraji Kooyu, was a member of the embassy to Silla, but nothing further is known of his rank or office.
This is one of two envoys attached to the untitled chōka 3691 of this book, likewise an elegy mourning Yuki no Muraji Yakamaro, who died on the island of Iki. A left note reads "the above three are elegies composed by Fujii no Muraji Kooyu."

First line, "momichiba no": leaves colored in autumn, which as things that scatter evoke human death.
Second line, "chirinamu yama ni": "namu" is the irrealis of the perfective "nu" with conjectural "mu": on the mountain where they will scatter.
Third line, "yadorinuru": having taken lodging, likening his burial on the mountain to lodging on a journey.
Fourth line, "kimi o matsuramu": "ramu" conjectures a present matter out of sight: who must be waiting for you. It takes up "matsuramu kimi" in the fourth line of the preceding poem, 3692.
Fifth line, "hito shi kanashi mo": "shi" is emphatic and "mo" exclamatory: how sad are those who wait, the poem ends.
Author: Fujii no Kooyu
Source: Manyoshu
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