Today, we start a selection of poems by Yamabe no Akahito (fl. 724-737). Like Hitomaro, it seems he was a court poet, but we know little more about him. He is, perhaps, at his best with tanka, but he still deserves a place as one of the four great poets of the Man'yôshû. First, one of the earliest mentions of Mt. Fuji:

A poem by Akahito, Lord Yamabe, on yearning for Mt Fuji.

amëtuti nö wakaresi töki yu kamu sabite takaku taputoki suruga naru pudi nö takane wo ama nö para purisake mireba wataru pi nö kagë mo kakurapi teru tukï nö pikari mo miezu sirakumo mo i yuki pa bakari tökidiku zö yuki pa purikeru kataritugi ipitugi yukamu pudi nö takane pa

Heaven and earth: Since the time they parted, Of manifest divinity, Reaching the heights of awe, In Suruga stands The high peak of Fuji; The field of heaven: On gazing at the distant sight The coursing sun Light is blocked and The shining moon Light goes unseen; The white clouds, too, Shrink from passing by as Ceaselessly Snow falls: From mouth to mouth will pass the word, Travelling and speaking Of the peak of Fuji.

MYS III: 317