Ashihiki no yama wa naku mo ga tsuki mireba onajiki sato o kokoro hedatetsu

あしひきの山はなくもが月見れば
同じき里を心隔てつ

Roma-ji: Ashihiki no yama wa naku mo ga tsuki mireba onajiki sato o kokoro hedatetsu
English Translation: Would there were no hills,
the foot-dragging mountains—
when I see the moon
we are in the same village, yet
our hearts are kept apart.
Meaning: If only there were no mountains! When I look at the moon we share the same village, yet they have set our hearts apart.
Commentary: Book Eighteen 4076

Headnote: "Four poems sent in reply by Ōtomo no Yakamochi, governor of Etchū Province." "In answer to what the man of old said."
The poet wishes there were no mountains, for when he looks at the moon they are in the same village, yet the mountains have divided their hearts. Answering Ikenushi's 4073, he takes up the idea of sharing the moon but resents the mountains that divide them, sharpening the loneliness of being unable to meet.
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.
To Ikenushi's three poems Yakamochi replied with four, the first three corresponding to Ikenushi's three in turn. According to the left note, they were composed on the sixteenth of the third month.

First line, "ashihiki no": a pillow word for "mountain."
Second line, "yama wa naku mo ga": "mo ga" is a particle of wishing, "if only there were no mountains." Taking up Ikenushi's "it is the mountains that stand between," he wishes they were gone. The poem pauses after the second line.
Third line, "tsuki mireba": using the first line of Ikenushi's poem as it is, it makes clear that this is an answer.
Fourth line, "onajiki sato o": taking up Ikenushi's "same country," he narrows "country" to the more intimate "village," stressing how close they are.
Last line, "kokoro hedatetsu": "tsu" is perfective, "they have parted our hearts." Taking up Ikenushi's "hedatetarikere," he closes with the same verb "hedatsu."
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Aiomowazu aruramu kimi o ayashiku mo nageki wataru ka hito no tou made
Next Poem: Waga seko ga furuki kakitsu no sakurabana imada fufumeri hitome mi ni kone