Aoniyoshi Nara no miyako wa furinuredo moto hototogisu nakazu aranaku ni

あをによし奈良の都は古りぬれど
もと霍公鳥鳴かずあらなくに

Roma-ji: Aoniyoshi Nara no miyako wa furinuredo moto hototogisu nakazu aranaku ni
English Translation: Nara, rich in green earth,
the old capital has grown
faded and worn, yet
the hototogisu of old
does not fail to sing for us
Meaning: The capital of Nara has grown old and faded, yet the hototogisu we knew of old has not ceased to sing.
Commentary: Book Seventeen 3919

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Six poems composed on the fifth day of the fourth month of the sixteenth year, while living alone at my old house in Heijō"
Nara has become a faded former capital, yet the familiar hototogisu still sings as it always did—a poem contrasting the unchanging bird with the changed city. This is one of six poems Yakamochi composed on the fifth day of the fourth month of 744, living alone in his old house at Heijō, which had become a former capital as the court moved from Kuni to Naniwa. Hearing the bird sing as before in a capital deserted by its people, he fills the poem with nostalgia.
The poet, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, was the son of the Major Counselor Ōtomo no Tabito. Appointed Governor of Etchū in 746, he spent five years there, later serving as Junior Counselor and Governor of Inaba before rising to Middle Counselor. He is thought to have played a central role in compiling the Man'yōshū.
The left note reads, "The above six poems were composed by Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi on the fifth day of the fourth month of the sixteenth year of Tenpyō, living alone in his old house in his home town of Heijō."

First line, "aoniyoshi": a pillow word for Nara.
Second line, "Nara no miyako wa": the Heijō capital, which at the time had become a former capital.
Third line, "furinuredo": "though it has grown old," reflecting its loss of status as the seat of government. The next poem, 3920, carries this on with "though people think it old."
Fourth line, "moto hototogisu": "the hototogisu of old," the bird that kept coming from the city's days of glory.
Fifth line, "nakazu aranaku ni": "it is not that it does not sing," a double negative stressing that the bird sings just as before. The changing world of people is contrasted with unchanging nature.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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