Yamabuki wa hi ni hi ni sakinu uruwashi to aga mou kimi wa shikushiku omohoyu

山吹は日に日に咲きぬうるはしと
我が思ふ君はしくしく思ほゆ

Roma-ji: Yamabuki wa hi ni hi ni sakinu uruwashi to aga mou kimi wa shikushiku omohoyu
English Translation: The kerria blossoms
open more with every day;
you, whom I esteem
as so noble and so fine,
come ever more to my mind
Meaning: Day by day the kerria comes into fuller bloom, and you, whom I so admire, are more and more in my thoughts.
Commentary: Book Seventeen 3974

Headnote: envoy to a chōka introduced as "respectfully composed in reply," following a letter in Chinese beginning "Yesterday I set down my small thoughts, and this morning I sully your eyes and ears again"
The kerria blooms more each day, and his esteemed friend is ever more in his thoughts—a poem of respect and affection for Yakamochi. This is an envoy to the chōka Ikenushi sent on the fifth day of the third month of 747 in answer to Yakamochi's chōka and envoys. The letter praises Yakamochi's literary gifts, saying that even the fount of poetry of Yama and Kaki looks slight beside them. The chōka consoles him that messengers to the capital never cease, so there is no need to grieve; that the world is fleeting, and there may be comfort in it; and, in the words of villagers, it tells him that maidens picking violets in the spring fields are waiting for him, inviting him to come and see. Over the kerria that blooms more each day he lays a regard for Yakamochi that grows each day.
The poet, Ōtomo no Ikenushi, served as Secretary of Etchū under Governor Yakamochi. A member of the same clan and well versed in Chinese verse and prose, he exchanged many poems and letters with Yakamochi during the Etchū years.
The left note reads, "Fifth day of the third month, Ōtomo no Sukune Ikenushi."

First line, "yamabuki wa": taking up "the kerria thickets" in Yakamochi's 3971, linking the materials of the exchange.
Second line, "hi ni hi ni sakinu": "it blooms day by day"; the poem pauses here.
Third line, "uruwashi to": "as fine, as worthy of esteem."
Fourth line, "aga mou kimi wa": "you, of whom I think so," meaning Yakamochi.
Fifth line, "shikushiku omohoyu": shikushiku means "repeatedly, unceasingly," answering "hi ni hi ni" in the second line to show his growing feelings. The same word appears in "iya shikushiku ni" in 3986 of this book.
Author: Ōtomo no Ikenushi
Source: Manyoshu
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