Yo kutachite naku kawachidori ubeshi koso mukashi no hito mo shinoikinikere

夜くたちて鳴く川千鳥うべしこそ
昔の人も偲ひ来にけれ

Roma-ji: Yo kutachite naku kawachidori ubeshi koso mukashi no hito mo shinoikinikere
English Translation: The night having deepened,
the river plovers crying—
truly, no wonder
that people of long ago
cherished them in their hearts
Meaning: River plovers crying as the night deepens—no wonder, then, that people long ago held this sound so dear.
Commentary: Book Nineteen 4147

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Two poems on hearing plovers cry in the night"
Hearing river plovers cry deep in the night, the poet is convinced that it is only natural that people of old were drawn to this sound. Having felt his heart wilt at their cry in the preceding poem, he now reframes that emotion as something shared with the ancients.
"People of old" likely evokes Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, whose phrase was used in the preceding poem, and other earlier poets who sang of plovers, revealing the poet's reverence for old poetry.
The poet, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, was the son of the Grand Counselor Ōtomo no Tabito. From 746 he served as Governor of Etchū, living at the provincial headquarters in what is now Fushiki, Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture. He is regarded as the leading poet of the Nara period and is thought to have played a central role in compiling the Man'yōshū.

First line, "yo kutachite" (the night having deepened), uses the same word as "yogutachi ni" in the preceding poem, showing the two are a sequence from the same night.
Second line, "naku kawachidori" (the crying river plovers), takes up the closing "naku chidori kamo" of the preceding poem and names them as river plovers.
Third line, "ubeshi koso" (truly, it is no wonder): "ube" means "indeed, naturally," "shi" is emphatic, and "koso" is a binding particle concluded by "kere" in the last line.
Fourth line, "mukashi no hito mo" (people of old, too): "mo" means "just as I do," expressing sympathy across the ages.
Fifth line, "shinoikinikere" (have cherished it), ends in the realis form "kere" in answer to "koso," expressing the poet's deep conviction that people have loved this sound since long ago.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Yogutachi ni nezamete oreba kawase tome kokoro mo shino ni naku chidori kamo
Next Poem: Sugi no no ni saodoru kigishi ichishiroku ne ni shimo nakamu komorizuma kamo