Sahogawa no koishi fumiwatari nubatama no kuroma kuru yo wa toshi ni mo aranu ka

佐保川の小石踏み渡りぬばたまの
黒馬来る夜は年にもあらぬか

Roma-ji: Sahogawa no koishi fumiwatari nubatama no kuroma kuru yo wa toshi ni mo aranu ka
English Translation: Over Saho's stream,
stepping on the pebbles, crossing,
black as the berries,
the nights your black horse comes here,
might they last the whole year round
Meaning: The nights when your black horse comes stepping across the pebbles of the Saho River, might they not go on all the year round?
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 525

Headnote: "Four poems by Ōtomo no Iratsume in reply"
This is the first of four poems with which Ōtomo no Iratsume answered Fujiwara no Maro's three. She wishes that the nights when he comes on his black horse, stepping across the pebbles of the Saho River, might last all year. Maro's poem 523 spoke with toshi ni mo of those who can go a year without meeting; answering with the same toshi ni mo, she retorts that she would have him come every night of the year.
According to the left note, she was the daughter of Ōtomo no Yasumaro, the Saho Major Counselor; she first married Prince Hozumi and enjoyed his favor, and after his death was courted by Fujiwara no Maro. Because she lived in the village of Sakanoue, she was called Lady Sakanoue.
The author, Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue, was a daughter of Ōtomo no Yasumaro and half-sister of Ōtomo no Tabito. She left many poems in the Man'yōshū and is esteemed as a leading woman poet.

First line, "Over Saho's stream," names the Saho River flowing north of the capital at Nara, the district where she lived.
Second line, "stepping on the pebbles, crossing," runs to eight syllables and depicts the lover's coming across the river stone by stone.
Third line, "black as the berries," is nubatama no, a pillow word for "black" and "night," here leading to "black horse" in the fourth line.
Fourth line, "the nights your black horse comes here," pictures his coming even to the color of his horse, vividly imagining the visit she longs for.
Fifth line, "might they last the whole year round," uses the wishful nu ka: would that it were so all year. It answers his poem with the same toshi ni mo.
Author: Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Source: Manyoshu
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