Waga seko ga yado no yamabuki sakite araba yamazu kayowamu iya toshi no ha ni

我が背子が宿の山吹咲きてあらば
やまず通はむいや年の端に

Roma-ji: Waga seko ga yado no yamabuki sakite araba yamazu kayowamu iya toshi no ha ni
English Translation: If at your dwelling,
my dear friend, the yamabuki
should be in full bloom,
I would come and come again
every year as years go round
Meaning: If the yamabuki blooms at your house, my friend, I will come to see it without fail, year after year.
Commentary: Book Twenty Miscellaneous Poems 4303

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On the nineteenth day of the third month, a banquet beneath the zelkova tree at the gate of Yakamochi's country estate; two poems."
If the yamabuki blooms at your house, I will come without fail every year: the reply to the preceding poem. The left note says that Hatsuse came carrying yamabuki flowers and a jar of wine, and Yakamochi composed this in response. Where the preceding poem promised to raise the flower for Yakamochi, he answers that he will come to see it every year, and the two confirm their friendship.
The author, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, son of Ōtomo no Tabito, was at this time Junior Counselor.

The first line, "waga seko ga," addresses a close male friend, here Hatsuse.
The second line, "yado no yamabuki," takes up "yamabuki wa," the first line of the preceding poem, and recasts it as the yamabuki of Hatsuse's house.
The third line, "sakite araba," is a supposition: "if it is in bloom."
The fourth line, "yamazu kayowamu," with the volitional mu, says "I will come without fail." Against "you came time and again" in the preceding poem, he places himself as the one who visits.
The closing line, "iya toshi no ha ni," means "every year," ending with a wish for lasting friendship.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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