Tomo no ura no iso no muro no ki mimu goto ni aimishi imo wa wasurae me ya mo

鞆の浦の磯のむろの木見むごとに
相見し妹は忘らえめやも

Roma-ji: Tomo no ura no iso no muro no ki mimu goto ni aimishi imo wa wasurae me ya mo
English Translation: At the bay of Tomo,
the juniper on the rocks—
each time I see it,
the wife who once saw it with me,
how could I ever forget?
Meaning: Whenever I see the juniper on the rocky shore of Tomo Bay, how could I ever forget my wife, who saw it with me?
Commentary: Book Three Elegies 447

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Five poems composed by the Governor-General of Dazaifu, Lord Ōtomo, when setting out for the capital in the twelfth month of winter, Tenpyō 2, the year kanoe-uma"
This is the second of the five poems composed on the way to the capital. Each time he sees the juniper on the rocks of Tomo Bay, he cannot forget the wife who saw it with him, regarding the tree as a keepsake of her. Continuing from the preceding poem's juniper, it deepens his love for his wife.
In the twelfth month of winter in Tenpyō 2 (730), Tabito, appointed Great Counselor and traveling from Dazaifu to the capital, saw again, alone, the scenes of Tomo Bay and Cape Minume that he had seen with his late wife on the way out, and composed this sequence.
The poet, Ōtomo no Tabito, was a son of Ōtomo no Yasumaro. He served as Middle Counselor and Governor-General of Dazaifu before rising to Great Counselor, and died in Tenpyō 3 (731). Steeped in Chinese letters, he was at the center of a poetic circle with Yamanoue no Okura and others while serving in Tsukushi.

First line "At the bay of Tomo" has one syllable too many.
Second line "the juniper on the rocks" takes up the preceding poem's third line.
Third line "each time I see it" means whenever he looks.
Fourth line "the wife who once saw it with me": aimiru means to see together.
Fifth line "how could I ever forget": e is potential, me the conditional of mu, and ya mo rhetorical.
Author: Ōtomo no Tabito
Source: Manyoshu
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