Tachibana o yado ni ue ooshi tachite ite nochi ni kuyu tomo shirushi arame ya mo

橘を宿に植ゑ生ほし立ちて居て
後に悔ゆとも験あらめやも

Roma-ji: Tachibana o yado ni ue ooshi tachite ite nochi ni kuyu tomo shirushi arame ya mo
English Translation: The mandarin tree
planted in my garden, raised—
fretting all the while,
should I come to rue it later,
would there be the slightest use?
Meaning: I planted a mandarin orange tree in my garden and raised it, fretting over it constantly—but if I should come to regret it later, what good would that do?
Commentary: Book Three Allegorical Poems 410

Headnote: "A poem on the mandarin orange by Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue"
This poem belongs to the section of Allegorical Poems in Book Three. Even the mandarin tree she planted and raised with care would be of no use to regret later, she sings. Read as an allegory with the mandarin tree as a daughter raised with care, it expresses a mother's worry that it would be no use regretting once the daughter she had raised so carefully had been taken by another man. The next poem answers it.
The poet, Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue, was a daughter of Ōtomo no Yasumaro, half-sister of Ōtomo no Tabito, and aunt of Ōtomo no Yakamochi. As mistress of the Ōtomo household she supported the clan, and she left many poems in the Man'yōshū.

First line "The mandarin tree": the evergreen tachibana was prized for its fruit and flowers; here it stands for a cherished daughter.
Second line "planted in my garden, raised": oosu means to raise. The line has one syllable too many.
Third line "fretting all the while": tachite ite, "standing and sitting," conveys restless worry.
Fourth line "should I come to rue it later": tomo is concessive.
Fifth line "would there be the slightest use": shirushi is benefit, and ya mo rhetorical.
Author: Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Source: Manyoshu
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