Nubatama no yo wa fukenurashi tamakushige Futagamiyama ni tsuki katabukinu

ぬばたまの夜は更けぬらし玉櫛笥
二上山に月かたぶきぬ

Roma-ji: Nubatama no yo wa fukenurashi tamakushige Futagamiyama ni tsuki katabukinu
English Translation: The jet-black night, it seems,
has grown far and deep by now;
over Futagami,
like the lid of a jewel box,
the moon has begun to sink
Meaning: The night must be far advanced—over Mount Futagami the moon has begun to sink.
Commentary: Book Seventeen 3955

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Poems from a banquet gathered at the residence of Governor Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi on the night of the seventh day of the eighth month"
The moon has sunk toward Mount Futagami, so the night must be late—a poem announcing the end of the banquet. This is one of the poems from a banquet held on the night of the seventh day of the eighth month of 746, when the provincial officials gathered at the residence of Yakamochi, newly arrived as Governor of Etchū. Seeing the moon over Mount Futagami, which rose north of the provincial office, the poet senses the hour and quietly sings of the merry gathering drawing to a close.
The poet, Haji no Michiyoshi, was a junior clerk (a low-ranking scribe of the provincial office) in Etchū; little else is known of him.
The left note reads, "The above poem is by the clerk Haji no Sukune Michiyoshi."

First line, "nubatama no": a pillow word for night.
Second line, "yo wa fukenurashi": rashi is an auxiliary of inference based on evidence—"the night seems to have grown late." The poem pauses here, giving the evidence below. Poem 3900, "funanori surashi," has the same structure of setting the evidence in the lower verse.
Third line, "tamakushige": "a jeweled comb box," a pillow word for Futagami through futa ("lid").
Fourth line, "Futagamiyama ni": Mount Futagami in present-day Takaoka, Toyama, rising north of the Etchū provincial office.
Fifth line, "tsuki katabukinu": "the moon has sunk westward," the scene that shows the late hour. Placed last among the banquet poems, it marks the end of the feast through the setting moon.
Author: Haji no Michiyoshi
Source: Manyoshu
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