Kusakae no irie ni asaru ashitazu no ana tazutazushi tomo nashi ni shite

草香江の入江にあさる葦鶴の
あなたづたづし友なしにして

Roma-ji: Kusakae no irie ni asaru ashitazu no ana tazutazushi tomo nashi ni shite
English Translation: At Kusaka's inlet,
in the cove, foraging there,
cranes among the reeds,
oh, how forlorn I feel,
with no friend beside me now
Meaning: Like the cranes foraging among the reeds in the inlet of Kusaka, how forlorn and helpless I feel, with no friend beside me.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 575

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Two poems by Lord Ōtomo, Major Counselor, in reply"
In the second poem, with cranes foraging in the inlet of Kusaka as its preface, the poet says he feels forlorn without his friends, voicing the loneliness of parting from his companions in Tsukushi. Using the sound tazu of "reed cranes" to draw out tazutazushi, "forlorn," it conveys the helplessness of one left alone.
The author, Ōtomo no Tabito, was a son of Ōtomo no Yasumaro and father of Ōtomo no Yakamochi. He went down to Tsukushi as Governor-General of the Dazaifu and later returned to the capital as Major Counselor.

First line, "At Kusaka's inlet," names Kusakae in Kawachi, an inlet thought to have lain near today's Kusaka in Higashiōsaka.
Second line, "in the cove, foraging there," means seeking food in the inlet.
Third line, "cranes among the reeds," names ashitazu, cranes by the reeds; the sound tazu draws out tazutazushi in the fourth line, and with the first two lines it forms a preface.
Fourth line, "oh, how forlorn I feel," uses the exclamation ana with tazutazushi, "uncertain, forlorn": how helpless I feel. The poem breaks after this line.
Fifth line, "with no friend beside me now," gives by inversion the reason for his forlorn state.
Author: Ōtomo no Tabito
Source: Manyoshu
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