Kono miyuru kumo hobikorite tonogumori ame mo furanu ka kokorodarai ni

この見ゆる雲ほびこりてとの曇り
雨も降らぬか心足らひに

Roma-ji: Kono miyuru kumo hobikorite tonogumori ame mo furanu ka kokorodarai ni
English Translation: These clouds that I see,
let them spread across the sky,
heavy overcast—
will the rain not fall at last,
till our hearts are satisfied?
Meaning: Let these clouds I see spread out until the whole sky is overcast—will the rain not fall, enough to fill our hearts with content?
Commentary: Book Eighteen 4123

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "From the sixth day of the intercalary fifth month of the first year of Tenpyō Kanpō a slight drought set in, and the people's fields began to look withered. On the first day of the sixth month, signs of rain clouds suddenly appeared. So I composed a poem on clouds [with one short poem]." "One envoy."
The poet wishes that the clouds he sees would spread and cover the sky, and that rain would fall until hearts are satisfied. It is an envoy to a long poem praying for rain, composed when, after a drought since the intercalary fifth month had left the crops wilting, signs of rain clouds appeared on the first of the sixth month.
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 left note reads, "The two poems above were composed by the governor, Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi, in the evening of the first day of the sixth month." It is a rain-prayer poem showing a governor's concern for the lives of his people, and in the next poem, 4124, the joy of rain falling is sung.

First line, "kono miyuru": "these that I see now," taking up "signs of rain clouds appeared" in the headnote.
Second line, "kumo hobikorite": "hobikoru" means to spread. He wishes for the clouds to spread across the sky.
Third line, "tonogumori": the whole sky overcast. It takes up the long poem's ending, "tonogumori aite ame mo tamawane."
Fourth line, "ame mo furanu ka": "nu ka," a negative question, expresses the wish "will it not rain?" The poem pauses after the fourth line.
Last line, "kokorodarai ni": "until hearts are satisfied." In inverted order, it shows how much rain he longs for. The phrase "shi ga negau kokorodarai ni" also appears in 4094, the same words used of satisfying the people's hearts.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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