Hisakata no ame no tsuyushimo okinikeri ie naru hito mo machikoinuramu

ひさかたの天の露霜置きにけり
家なる人も待ち恋ひぬらむ

Roma-ji: Hisakata no ame no tsuyushimo okinikeri ie naru hito mo machikoinuramu
English Translation: From the far heavens
dew and frost have settled down,
now I see them here;
those at home, too, must by now
long and wait for my return
Meaning: Dew and frost from the heavens have settled; the people at home, too, must be longing and waiting for me.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 651

Headnote: "Two poems by Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue"
Seeing dew and frost settle while she is away, the poet thinks that with the turning season those she left at home must be longing and waiting for her. It seems to be a poem she wrote on a journey, thinking of her family. The chill of the frost makes one feel the length of their separation.
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, "From the far heavens," is hisakata no, a pillow word for "heaven."
Second line, "dew and frost have settled down," names tsuyushimo, dew and frost fallen from the sky.
Third line, "now I see them here," uses keri for realization: they have settled, I see. The poem breaks after this line.
Fourth line, "those at home, too, must by now," means the people who are at home.
Fifth line, "long and wait for my return," uses the present conjectural ramu: they must be waiting in longing. The theme of waiting that runs from the opening of the book appears here too.
Author: Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Source: Manyoshu
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