Ori akashi mo koyoi wa nomamu hototogisu akemu ashita wa naki wataramu zo

居り明かしも今夜は飲まむ霍公鳥
明けむ朝は鳴き渡らむぞ

Roma-ji: Ori akashi mo koyoi wa nomamu hototogisu akemu ashita wa naki wataramu zo
English Translation: Though we stay till dawn,
tonight we will drink our fill—
the hototogisu,
when the morning comes at last,
surely will go singing past.
Meaning: Even if we sit up till dawn, let us drink tonight—for when morning breaks the cuckoo is sure to fly over singing.
Commentary: Book Eighteen 4068

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Four poems from a banquet at the residence of the secretary Kume no Ason Hironawa on the first day of the fourth month."
The poet urges the company to drink tonight even if they stay up till dawn, since the cuckoo will surely fly over singing when morning comes. Because the next day marks the beginning of summer, he invites everyone to continue the banquet through the night and wait for the cuckoo's first song.
Ōtomo no Yakamochi was the son of Ōtomo no Tabito, and from 746 he served as governor of Etchū. He is believed to have played a central role in compiling the Man'yōshū, and this book has the character of a poetic diary of his years in Etchū.
At the end of the poem the text adds a note: "The second day corresponds to the beginning of summer; that is why he says it will sing tomorrow morning." As this is not part of the poem itself, it has been omitted. It means that since the next day, the second, was the first day of summer, the bird would sing the next morning.

First line, "ori akashi mo": "even if we stay up all night," with "mo" adding emphasis.
Second line, "koyoi wa nomamu": "mu" is an auxiliary of intention, calling on the company to drink tonight. The poem pauses after the second line.
Third line, "hototogisu": as in the two preceding poems the cuckoo appears, but here it is not called to; it stands as the subject of a guess about the coming morning.
Fourth line, "akemu ashita wa": "mu" is softening, "on the morning that will dawn." "Akashi" in the first line and "ake" here answer each other.
Last line, "naki wataramu zo": "mu" is conjectural and "zo" a particle of firm assertion. It ends in expectation of the morning that begins summer. It also echoes "asu yori wa" in the next poem, 4069, so a heart waiting for tomorrow runs through both.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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