Hitohi ni wa chienami shiki ni omoedomo nazo sono tama no te ni makikataki

一日には千重波しきに思へども
なぞその玉の手に巻きかたき

Roma-ji: Hitohi ni wa chienami shiki ni omoedomo nazo sono tama no te ni makikataki
English Translation: In a single day,
like the waves in thousand folds,
I think of her so;
why then is that jewel so hard
to wind around my hand?
Meaning: Within a single day I think of her as often as the waves roll in, fold upon fold—why then is that jewel so hard to wind around my wrist?
Commentary: Book Three Allegorical Poems 409

Headnote: "A poem by Ōtomo no Sukune Surugamaro"
This poem belongs to the section of Allegorical Poems in Book Three. Though he thinks of her as often as the waves roll in within a single day, why can he not wind that jewel about his wrist? he asks, voicing the frustration of being unable to win the one he loves. Likening his beloved to a jewel, he contrasts the intensity of his feeling with his lament that it goes unfulfilled.
The poet, Ōtomo no Surugamaro, was a Nara-period official said to be a grandson of Ōtomo no Miyuki. He later governed the northeast as Inspector of Mutsu and General of the Pacification Headquarters, and died in Hōki 7 (776).

First line "In a single day" means within one day.
Second line "like the waves in thousand folds": chienami are waves rolling in layer upon layer, and shiki ni means "repeatedly."
Third line "I think of her so": domo is concessive.
Fourth line "why then is that jewel": nazo means "why," and the jewel stands for his beloved.
Fifth line "so hard to wind around my hand" ends in the attributive form, answering nazo.
Author: Ōtomo no Surugamaro
Source: Manyoshu
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