Yoi ni aite ashita omonami nabari ni ka kenagaku imo ga iori serikemu

宵に逢ひて朝面無み名張にか
日長く妹が廬りせりけむ

Roma-ji: Yoi ni aite ashita omonami nabari ni ka kenagaku imo ga iori serikemu
English Translation: Having met at dusk,
shy to show her face by dawn—
in hidden Nabari,
was it there for many days
my darling made her lodging?
Meaning: Like a lover who meets at dusk and hides her face for shame at dawn—was it there, in Nabari, that my beloved lodged for so many days?
Commentary: Book One Miscellaneous Poems 60

Headnote: "A poem by Prince Naga"
The prince wonders whether his beloved spent many days lodging at Nabari—a name that sounds like nabaru, "to hide," as a woman hides her face for shame the morning after meeting her lover at dusk. The first two lines form a preface leading to Nabari, painting a memorable picture of a bashful woman. From its placement, it is thought to be a poem thinking of a woman who passed through Nabari while attending Retired Empress Jitō's journey to Mikawa.
Prince Naga was a son of Emperor Tenmu; his mother was Princess Ōe, a daughter of Emperor Tenji, and Prince Yuge was his full younger brother. He left poems marked by wit and dignity.

The first line, "having met at dusk," depicts the lovers' tryst. The line is hypermetric.
In the second line, omonashi means bashful, and mi gives the reason: "shy at dawn." The first two lines form a preface that, through the sense of hiding one's face, leads to Nabari, homophonous with nabaru, "to hide."
The third line names Nabari in Iga Province, with the questioning particle ka, which forms a kakari-musubi with the kemu of the last line. Poem 43 in this book also mentions "the hills of Nabari," sharing the place name as a waypoint on the road.
In the fourth line, kenagaku means "for many days," ke being an old word for days. It shows that the traveling beloved stayed long at Nabari.
In the last line, iori means lodging in a temporary hut, ri is continuative, and kemu the attributive of past conjecture: "did she make her lodging there?" Answering the ka of the third line, it closes in thoughts of a beloved far away.
Author: Prince Naga
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Nagarauru tsuma fuku kaze no samuki yo ni waga se no kimi wa hitori ka nuramu
Next Poem: Masurao no satsuya tabasami tachimukai iru matokata wa miru ni sayakeshi