Kamuki ni mo te wa furu to iu o utsutae ni hitozuma to ieba furenu mono kamo

神木にも手は触るといふをうつたへに
人妻といへば触れぬものかも

Roma-ji: Kamuki ni mo te wa furu to iu o utsutae ni hitozuma to ieba furenu mono kamo
English Translation: Even sacred trees,
so they say, are touched by hands;
yet is it that she,
simply being another's wife,
is a thing none may touch at all
Meaning: They say that even a sacred tree may be touched by human hands; is a woman, just because she is another man's wife, never to be touched at all?
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 517

Headnote: "A poem by Lord Ōtomo, Major Counselor and General"
Even a tree where a god dwells may be touched, the poet says, so is a woman never to be touched merely because she is another's wife? He voices the frustration of a forbidden love. By comparing her with a sacred object he exaggerates the strength of his desire, a witty turn of phrase. Ishikawa no Iratsume of the next poem is taken to be Yasumaro's wife, and the two poems are set side by side as those of a husband and wife.
The author, Ōtomo no Yasumaro, was the father of Ōtomo no Tabito and Lady Sakanoue. He distinguished himself in the Jinshin War and later became Major Counselor and General; he kept his residence at Saho and was called the Saho Major Counselor.

First line, "Even sacred trees," means even trees where gods dwell, naming the thing hardest of all to touch.
Second line, "so they say, are touched by hands," means though they say hands may touch them; the concessive o sets this against the wife in the lines that follow.
Third line, "yet is it that she," is utsutae ni, "utterly, wholly," an adverb answering the negative in the fifth line.
Fourth line, "simply being another's wife," means because she is called another man's wife, naming the object of the taboo.
Fifth line, "is a thing none may touch at all," uses kamo, doubt mixed with lament: is she indeed not to be touched? It closes with a sighing question.
Author: Ōtomo no Yasumaro
Source: Manyoshu
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