Stones keep rolling down,
Riding on the rapids of
Hatsuse River,
Would it last forever ‘round?
Would come back and look over….
(Vol.6-978)

Hatsusegawa (Hatsuse River) runs through Sakurai-Asakura areas, situated south of Nara City, with Mount Miwa to the north and with Mount Torimi in the south. The river snakes between dales formed by these mountains and thus gives rapid torrents here and there. In Japanese language, the word “Hatsuse” tends to transform phonetically to “Hasse”, and eventually “Hase”. The river runs near famous Hasedera (Hase Temple) and Hase-Kannon Temple, and the river itself is often called Hasegawa (Hase River). The word “Hasegawa” itself is used as a popular yet traditional surname. There are other songs sung about Hatsusegawa by other poets, and the river seems to have been a popular “sight-seeing spot” or a symbol of a vivid local life in the ancient Nara Era. The name of the poet here, Kino-Kahito, means Kahito from Ki Province (nowadays Wakayama Pref., the pref. adjacent to Nara Pref.)
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