Asakayama kage sae miyuru yama no i no asaki kokoro o waga omowanaku ni

安積山影さへ見ゆる山の井の
浅き心を我が思はなくに

Roma-ji: Asakayama kage sae miyuru yama no i no asaki kokoro o waga omowanaku ni
English Translation: Asaka mountain—
even its shadow is seen
in the mountain spring;
yet not with so shallow a heart
do I hold you in my thoughts.
Meaning: The mountain spring at Asaka is so shallow it mirrors even the mountain's shadow, but my heart toward you is nothing so shallow as that.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Poems with Tales of Origin and Miscellaneous Poems 3807

Headnote: none; the left note reads: "The story goes that when Prince Katsuragi was sent to the province of Mutsu, the provincial officials served him with unusual carelessness. The prince was displeased, and anger showed on his face. Though food and wine were set out, he would not enjoy the feast. Then a former palace attendant, a woman of refined taste, holding a cup in her left hand and water in her right, tapped the prince's knee and recited this poem. The prince's mood softened, and he drank happily all day."
The poem says that the singer does not think of him with a heart as shallow as the mountain spring that mirrors Mount Asaka. It has come down with the anecdote of how its wit dispelled the anger of the offended Prince Katsuragi.
According to the left note, when Prince Katsuragi, sent to Mutsu, was angered by the officials' poor hospitality, a refined woman who had once served as a palace attendant tapped his knee with cup and water in hand and recited this poem, after which he cheerfully feasted all day. Prince Katsuragi is thought to be the later Tachibana no Moroe.
The poet is a woman said to have been a former palace attendant; her name is not recorded.
In the kana preface of the Kokin Wakashū, this poem and the Naniwazu poem are called the father and mother of poetry, the first poems learned in practicing writing. A wooden tablet unearthed at the Shigaraki palace site is known to bear both this poem and the Naniwazu poem.

First line, "Asakayama," names a mountain in Asaka District of Mutsu, said to be in present-day Kōriyama, Fukushima Prefecture.
Second line, "kage sae miyuru," means "where even its shadow is seen," suggesting both clear water and shallowness.
Third line, "yama no i no," means "of the mountain spring." The first three lines form a preface leading to "shallow" in the fourth line.
Fourth line, "asaki kokoro o," means "with a shallow heart," turning the shallowness of the spring into that of a human heart.
Final line, "waga omowanaku ni," means "yet I do not think of you so." The nominalized negative naku with ni adds a concessive sigh as she pleads her sincerity.
Source: Manyoshu
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