This is poem number 4143 of the Man’yōshū, the oldest existing collection of poetry in Japan. The Man’yōshū consists of over 4,500 poems and was compiled over a period of around 130 years, from the first part of the 7^th century to the latter part of the 8^th century. The author of this poem is Ōtomo no Yakamochi.

　This poem depicts lovely maidens gathering water from a well amid a field of dogtooth violets. It was composed by the poet while picking these flowers and is the only poem in the Man’yōshū that mentions dogtooth violets. The way in which the young ladies scattered in a group are overlapping with the flowers scattered here and there conveys Yakamochi’s exquisite sense of beauty.
Book 19 of the Man’yōshū begins with twelve poems composed between the 1^st and the 3^rd day of the third month, 750. These poems are known as “Etchū Shūgin” (Splendid Poems of Etchū) and are some of the most highly regarded poems from Yakamochi’s time in Etchū. This is the fifth poem in that series.
　This waka poem stone monument stands at various places around Takaoka City, including in front of Takaoka Station.

(English Translation and Commentary by Peter Macmillan)