Azumahito no nosaki no hako no ni no o ni mo imo wa kokoro ni norinikeru kamo

東人の荷前の箱の荷の緒にも
妹は心に乗りにけるかも

Roma-ji: Azumahito no nosaki no hako no ni no o ni mo imo wa kokoro ni norinikeru kamo
English Translation: Like the binding cords
on the boxes of first fruits
the eastern folk bring,
so have you, my love, come to ride
fast and firm upon my heart.
Meaning: Like the cords that bind the boxes of first-fruit tribute brought by the people of the east, you have come to rest firmly upon my heart.
Commentary: Book Two Love Poems 100

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Five poems from the time when the Meditation Master Kume courted Lady Ishikawa"
Comparing her to the cords that bind the tribute boxes carried from the eastern provinces, he declares that she has come to rest firmly on his heart, closing the sequence with the depth of his love.
According to the headnote, these are five poems from the time when the Meditation Master Kume courted Lady Ishikawa, and small notes, "the Master" or "the Lady," appended to each poem identify the speaker. The sequence is a dialogue in the language of archery: the Master's question, two answers from the Lady, and two replies from the Master. This is the fifth; leaving the language of the bow, he states his feeling directly to conclude. The note "the Master" at its end has been removed from the text of the poem.
The author, the Meditation Master Kume, is otherwise unknown. Zenji, "meditation master," was a title for a monk trained in Buddhist practice.

The first line, "azumahito no," means "of the eastern people" and is hypermetric, with six syllables.
In the second line, "nosaki no hako no," nosaki is the first-fruit tribute sent every year from the provinces to the court.
The third line, "ni no o ni mo," means "like the cord that binds the load." The preface runs from the first line to here and, from a load riding on a horse, leads to "riding on my heart."
The fourth line, "imo wa kokoro ni," means "you, my dear, upon my heart."
In the final line, "norinikeru kamo," nikeri marks completion and realization and kamo is exclamatory: you have come to ride wholly upon my heart.
Author: Meditation Master Kume
Source: Manyoshu
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