Aiomowanu hito o omou wa ōtera no gaki no shirie ni nukazuku gotoshi

相思はぬ人を思ふは大寺の
餓鬼の後方に額つくごとし

Roma-ji: Aiomowanu hito o omou wa ōtera no gaki no shirie ni nukazuku gotoshi
English Translation: Loving one who does
not love back is just the same
as in a great temple
bowing low behind the back
of a starving ghost's statue
Meaning: To love one who does not love you in return is like bowing your forehead to the ground behind the back of a hungry ghost's statue in a great temple.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 608

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Twenty-four poems sent by Lady Kasa to Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi"
To love one who does not love in return, she says, is like prostrating oneself behind the statue of a hungry ghost in a great temple, and she rebukes a love that goes unrewarded. The bold Buddhist image carries biting irony tinged with self-mockery. It is one of the best known of the twenty-four poems.
The author, Lady Kasa, was a woman poet of the Nara period who sent many love poems to Ōtomo no Yakamochi. Little else is known of her.

First line, "Loving one who does," runs to six syllables: not thinking of each other.
Second line, "not love back is just the same," means to love one who does not love me.
Third line, "as in a great temple," means a great temple, calling up the great temples of Nara.
Fourth line, "bowing low behind the back," names the rear of a hungry ghost's statue; to worship a gaki brings no blessing, and to worship it from behind is doubly futile.
Fifth line, "of a starving ghost's statue," means like pressing one's forehead to the ground in worship, closing on an image of utter futility.
Author: Lady Kasa
Source: Manyoshu
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