Ōtomo no na ni ou yuki obite yorozuyo ni tanomishi kokoro izuku ka yosemu

大伴の名に負ふ靫帯びて万代に
頼みし心いづくか寄せむ

Roma-ji: Ōtomo no na ni ou yuki obite yorozuyo ni tanomishi kokoro izuku ka yosemu
English Translation: True to Ōtomo's
name, a quiver on my back,
for ten thousand years
I had placed my trust in him—
where now shall my heart repair?
Meaning: Bearing the quiver as befits the name of Ōtomo, I trusted in our prince for ages to come—where now shall I turn my heart?
Commentary: Book Three Elegies 480

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Six poems composed by the palace attendant Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi on the death of Prince Asaka in the second month of spring, Tenpyō 16, the year kinoe-saru" — "Envoy"
This is the second envoy to the second long poem mourning Prince Asaka, closing the sequence. Bearing the quiver as befits the name of the Ōtomo, a warrior clan long devoted to guarding the imperial house, he served the prince and trusted in him for ages to come—where now shall his heart turn? It laments the loss of the lord he was to serve. Yakamochi's pride as an Ōtomo and his deep loyalty to the prince appear here. The left note says these three were composed on the twenty-fourth day of the third month.
This belongs to a sequence of elegies composed by Ōtomo no Yakamochi, then a palace attendant, when Prince Asaka, son of Emperor Shōmu, died suddenly at seventeen in the spring of Tenpyō 16 (744). The prince was buried in the Wazuka hills near the Kuni capital.
The poet, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, was a son of Ōtomo no Tabito and a Nara-period official. He served as Governor of Etchū and of Inaba, among other posts, rose to Middle Counselor, and died in Enryaku 4 (785). He is thought to have been deeply involved in compiling the Man'yōshū. At the time of Prince Asaka's death he was serving him as a palace attendant.

First line "True to Ōtomo's": the Ōtomo were an old warrior clan guarding the imperial house.
Second line "name, a quiver on my back": na ni ou means befitting the name, and yuki is a quiver carried on the back. The line has two syllables too many.
Third line "for ten thousand years" means forever.
Fourth line "I had placed my trust in him" means relying on the prince.
Fifth line "where now shall my heart repair": ka is interrogative and mu conjectural, ending in grief at losing his lord.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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