Sumeroki no miyo sakaemu to azuma naru michinokuyama ni kugane hana saku

天皇の御代栄えむと東なる
陸奥山に黄金花咲く

Roma-ji: Sumeroki no miyo sakaemu to azuma naru michinokuyama ni kugane hana saku
English Translation: So that our Sovereign's
reign may flourish, in the east,
upon the mountains
of the far land of Michinoku,
golden flowers have come to bloom.
Meaning: That our Sovereign's reign may flourish, in the mountains of Michinoku in the east, flowers of gold have bloomed.
Commentary: Book Eighteen 4097

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem celebrating the imperial edict on the gold produced in Michinoku Province [with short poems]." "Three envoys."
The poet sings that flowers of gold have bloomed in the mountains of Michinoku in the east, as a sign that the Emperor's reign will flourish. Praising the discovery of gold in Michinoku as an auspicious omen celebrating the prosperity of the reign, the poem is known for its splendid image of gold as "flowers."
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.
The gold was found in Oda District of Michinoku, thought to be near the Koganeyama Shrine in present-day Wakuya, Tōda District, Miyagi, where a stone inscribed with this poem has been erected. As the first gold produced in Japan, it was used to gild the Great Buddha of Tōdaiji. The left note reads, "Composed by Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi at the governor's residence in Etchū on the twelfth of the fifth month of the first year of Tenpyō Kanpō."

First line, "sumeroki no": "sumeroki" means the emperor or imperial ancestors; the poem praises the reign of Emperor Shōmu.
Second line, "miyo sakaemu to": "mu" is conjectural, "that the reign will prosper." The gold is received as a sign of the reign's prosperity.
Third line, "azuma naru": "in the eastern lands," as seen from the capital.
Fourth line, "michinokuyama ni": the mountains of Michinoku, the hills in Oda District where gold was found.
Last line, "kugane hana saku": gold likened to flowers, stated forcefully in the conclusive form. Where the preceding poem looked to the past and the graves of ancestors, this one looks to the future and the flourishing reign, ending the three envoys in celebration.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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