Kakinomoto no A Hitomaro

662 - 710 / Japan

On The Sovereign's Visit To The Palace In Yoshinu

Peacefully, our Sovereign rules all
beneath the sky, but over no land fairer
than mountain studded Kafuchi.
There Yoshinu's streams delight the heart
and Akitsu's moor is white with fallen flowers,
and there, high on stately pillars, stands
the royal palace of Yoshinu.
On early morning waters
palace servants scull their boats;
by evening countless craft sail to and fro.
Oh may those rivers never cease to flow,
the mountains never cease to climb the sky!
Amid the roiling streams let Royal City
flourish still, a place of joy for ever!
Although one gazes on and on, one never tires
of gazing on Yoshinu, where gliding waters flow
in unceasing surgeā€”a land to gaze upon for ever.
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