Saku hana wa utsurou toki ari ashihiki no yamasuga no ne shi nagaku wa arikeri

咲く花は移ろふ時ありあしひきの
山菅の根し長くはありけり

Roma-ji: Saku hana wa utsurou toki ari ashihiki no yamasuga no ne shi nagaku wa arikeri
English Translation: The blossoms that bloom
have their time to fade away;
on the foot-weary hills
the roots of the mountain sedge
it is they that long endure
Meaning: Flowers that bloom have their time to fade, but the roots of the mountain sedge, it seems, endure long.
Commentary: Book Twenty Miscellaneous Poems 4484

Headnote: none. The left note reads: "The above poem was composed by Ōtomo no Yakamochi, grieving and tender at the changing face of things."
Flowers that bloom have their time to fade, but the roots of the mountain sedge endure: the poem contrasts the passing of the showy with the lasting of the humble. The left note says Yakamochi composed it in grief and tenderness at the changing aspect of things. Taking up the preceding poem's lament for the changing times, it sets fading flowers against unchanging roots, seeking something constant amid impermanence.
The author, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, son of Ōtomo no Tabito, was at this time Senior Assistant Minister of Military Affairs.

The first line, "saku hana wa," "flowers that bloom," symbolizes the showy.
The second line, "utsurou toki ari," "have their time to fade," echoes utsuriyuku in the preceding poem. The poem pauses here.
The third line, "ashihiki no," is a pillow word for "mountain."
The fourth line, "yamasuga no ne shi," with the intensifier shi, "the roots of mountain sedge," stands for what is unobtrusive yet endures.
The closing line, "nagaku wa arikeri," with keri of realization: they have proven long-lasting. It pairs with the first line's "flowers that bloom."
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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