Umasake o miwa no hafuri ga iwau sugi te fureshi tsumi ka kimi ni aikataki

味酒を三輪の祝がいはふ杉
手触れし罪か君に逢ひかたき

Roma-ji: Umasake o miwa no hafuri ga iwau sugi te fureshi tsumi ka kimi ni aikataki
English Translation: Sacred wine of Miwa,
there the priests revere the cedar
as a holy tree;
is it for the sin of touching it
that it's hard to meet with you
Meaning: Is it the sin of having touched the sacred cedar that the priests of Miwa revere that makes it so hard for me to meet you?
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 712

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Three poems by Taniwa no Ōme no Otome"
Is it for the sin of touching the cedar that the priests of Miwa hold sacred that it is so hard to meet him? She likens love's obstacles to divine punishment. Like Ōtomo no Yasumaro's poem 517, "even sacred trees, so they say, are touched by hands," it speaks of touching a sacred tree.
The author, Taniwa no Ōme no Otome, is a woman of whom little is known.

First line, "Sacred wine of Miwa," is umasake o, a pillow word for Miwa, from the sacred wine offered to the god.
Second line, "there the priests revere the cedar," names the priests serving the god of Mount Miwa.
Third line, "as a holy tree," names the cedar held sacred; the poem breaks after this line.
Fourth line, "is it for the sin of touching it," uses the questioning ka: is it the sin of touching it?
Fifth line, "that it's hard to meet with you," runs to eight syllables: it is hard to meet you.
Author: Taniwa no Ōme no Otome
Source: Manyoshu
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