Aoyagi no hotsue yojitori kazuraku wa kimi ga yado ni shi chitose hoku to zo

青柳の上枝攀ぢ取りかづらくは
君が宿にし千年寿くとぞ

Roma-ji: Aoyagi no hotsue yojitori kazuraku wa kimi ga yado ni shi chitose hoku to zo
English Translation: The green willow's
topmost branches drawn and plucked,
worn within our hair,
here at your residence
to bless a thousand years
Meaning: We draw down and pluck the topmost branches of the green willow to wear in our hair, here at your house, to bless you with a thousand years of life.
Commentary: Book Nineteen 4289

Headnote: "A poem on the nineteenth day of the second month, at a banquet at the house of the Minister of the Left, Tachibana, on seeing a willow branch that had been pulled down and broken off"
Composed at a banquet at the residence of the Minister of the Left, Tachibana no Moroe, on seeing a broken-off willow branch, it blesses the host: we pull down the upper branches of the green willow and wear them in our hair to celebrate a thousand years of life at your house.
Overlaying the act of wearing the vital spring willow in one's hair with prayers for long life, it is a greeting expressing respect for the banquet's host, showing the close relationship of the Ōtomo and Tachibana clans.
The poet, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, was the son of the Grand Counselor Ōtomo no Tabito. Appointed Junior Counselor in 751, he returned from Etchū to the capital at Heijō-kyō, where he took part in court banquets as an official. He is thought to have played a central role in compiling the Man'yōshū.

First line, "aoyagi no" (of the green willow), names the budding spring willow.
Second line, "hotsue yojitori" (pulling down the topmost branches): "hotsue" are upper branches, corresponding to the headnote.
Third line, "kazuraku wa" (that we wear them in our hair), presents the theme.
Fourth line, "kimi ga yado ni shi" (at your residence): "shi" is emphatic.
Fifth line, "chitose hoku to zo" (is to bless a thousand years): "hoku" means to celebrate, and "zo" is emphatic.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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