Mukashi yori iikeru koto no Karakuni no karaku mo koko ni wakare suru kamo

昔より言ひけることの韓国の
からくもここに別れするかも

Roma-ji: Mukashi yori iikeru koto no Karakuni no karaku mo koko ni wakare suru kamo
English Translation: Just as men have said
since the days of long ago,
like Kara, the land,
so bitterly here and now
we part from one another
Meaning: Just as the old saying goes, bitter as the name of Kara, the land across the sea, is this parting here.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Poems of the Envoys to Silla 3695

Headnote: "Two envoys"
An elegy lamenting that, just as the old saying goes and as the "kara" of Karakuni suggests, they must part here so bitterly from Yakamaro. From the sound of "Kara" in Karakuni it draws out "karaku" (bitterly), expressing the pain of a death on the way to Silla. That the name of the very destination becomes a word for the bitterness of parting shows the depth of the grief.
The author, Muto no Sabamaro, is abbreviated in the left note as "Mutsa" and is identified with Muto no Muraji Sabamaro. He was a member of the embassy to Silla, but nothing further is known of him.
This is one of two envoys attached to the chōka 3694 of this book, 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 Mutsa."

First line, "mukashi yori": since long ago, showing the age of the saying.
Second line, "iikeru koto no": "keru" is the attributive of the past "keri": as the words handed down say.
Third line, "Karakuni no": "Karakuni" is the lands of the Korean peninsula, here Silla, the embassy's destination. The lines up to here form a preface that, by the sound "kara," leads into "karaku" in the fourth line.
Fourth line, "karaku mo koko ni": "karaku" means bitterly, harshly: so bitterly, here.
Fifth line, "wakare suru kamo": "kamo" is exclamatory: so we part, the poem ends, referring to the parting by death from Yakamaro.
Author: Muto no Sabamaro
Source: Manyoshu
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