Okureite koitsutsu arazu wa oishikamu michi no kumami ni shime yue waga se

後れ居て恋ひつつあらずは追ひ及かむ
道の隈廻に標結へ我が背

Roma-ji: Okureite koitsutsu arazu wa oishikamu michi no kumami ni shime yue waga se
English Translation: Rather than remain
behind, still longing for you,
I will follow on—
at each bend along the road
tie a marker for me, love.
Meaning: Rather than stay behind longing for you, I will follow and catch up with you. Tie a marker at every bend in the road, my love.
Commentary: Book Two Love Poems 115

Headnote: "A poem composed by Princess Tajima when Prince Hozumi was sent by imperial command to the mountain temple at Shiga in Ōmi"
As Prince Hozumi is sent by imperial command to the mountain temple at Shiga in Ōmi, she declares that rather than stay behind longing she will follow him, and asks him to tie markers at the bends of the road.
According to the headnote, this was composed when Prince Hozumi was dispatched to the Shiga mountain temple by imperial order. Some see the dispatch as a measure taken after their affair became known, and the poem shows the princess's fierce refusal to accept the parting.
The author, Princess Tajima, was a daughter of Emperor Tenmu; her mother was Hikami no Iratsume, a daughter of Fujiwara no Kamatari. She lived in the palace of her half-brother Prince Takechi, yet fell in love with another half-brother, Prince Hozumi.

The first line, "okureite," means "left behind."
The second line, "koitsutsu arazu wa," means "rather than go on longing," the same phrase used in 86 by Empress Iwa no Hime and in 120 by Prince Yuge in this book.
In the third line, "oishikamu," shiku means to catch up and mu expresses intention. The poem pauses here.
In the fourth line, "michi no kumami ni," kumami means the bends of the road.
In the final line, "shime yue waga se," shime is a cord or the like tied as a marker, and the imperative yue addresses her lover. It echoes "shime yuwamashi o" in 151 by Princess Nukata in this book, pairing a marker to follow a lover with a marker that might have held back a dead emperor.
Author: Princess Tajima
Source: Manyoshu
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