Tsurugitachi na no oshikeku mo ware wa nashi kimi ni awazute toshi no henureba

剣太刀名の惜しけくも我れはなし
君に逢はずて年の経ぬれば

Roma-ji: Tsurugitachi na no oshikeku mo ware wa nashi kimi ni awazute toshi no henureba
English Translation: By the sword's keen edge,
my good name, its loss I fear
not at all anymore,
since without meeting you
all these years have passed me by
Meaning: I no longer care about my good name, for years have passed without my meeting you.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 616

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Five poems sent by Princess Yamaguchi to Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi"
Since years have passed without meeting him, she no longer cares if her reputation suffers. A love that once feared gossip turns at last into a fierce resolve to cast her good name aside. Ōtomo no Yakamochi's poem 732 in this book has the same phrase, "my good name I no longer care for," so the words of a love heedless of reputation echo each other.
The author, Princess Yamaguchi, is a woman of whom little is known, apparently one of the women who exchanged love poems with Ōtomo no Yakamochi.

First line, "By the sword's keen edge," is tsurugitachi, a pillow word for na, "name," from na meaning a blade.
Second line, "my good name, its loss I fear," uses oshikeku, the nominalized form of oshi: that my name is precious.
Third line, "not at all anymore," means I have none of that; the poem breaks after this line.
Fourth line, "since without meeting you," means without meeting you.
Fifth line, "all these years have passed me by," gives the reason by inversion: because years have gone by.
Author: Princess Yamaguchi
Source: Manyoshu
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