Waga seko ga ato fumi motome oiyukaba ki no sekimori i todometemu kamo

我が背子が跡踏み求め追ひ行かば
紀の関守い留めてむかも

Roma-ji: Waga seko ga ato fumi motome oiyukaba ki no sekimori i todometemu kamo
English Translation: Tracing where he stepped,
seeking out my husband's path,
if I follow him,
would the keeper of Ki's gate
stop me there and hold me back
Meaning: If I were to follow my husband, seeking out his footprints along the road, would the guard at the barrier of Kii stop me?
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 545

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Envoy"
This is the second envoy to the long poem (543). If she were to follow her husband, tracing his footprints, would the guard at the barrier of Kii stop her? Following the long poem's worry over how she would answer if a road guard questioned her, it adds the fear of being held back at the barrier.
The author, Kasa no Kanamura, was a court poet of the early Nara period who left many poems composed on imperial progresses. This poem was written on behalf of the maiden, in her voice.

First line, "Tracing where he stepped," begins with "my husband," picturing the man who has set out.
Second line, "seeking out my husband's path," means following his footprints in search of him.
Third line, "if I follow him," uses the hypothetical -ba: if I went after him.
Fourth line, "would the keeper of Ki's gate," names the guard of the Kii barrier; i is an old particle emphasizing the subject.
Fifth line, "stop me there and hold me back," uses the emphatic te, conjectural mu, and questioning kamo: would he stop me, I wonder?
Author: Kasa no Kanamura
Source: Manyoshu
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