Waga na wa mo china no iona ni tachinu tomo kimi ga na tataba oshimi koso nake

我が名はも千名の五百名に立ちぬとも
君が名立たば惜しみこそ泣け

Roma-ji: Waga na wa mo china no iona ni tachinu tomo kimi ga na tataba oshimi koso nake
English Translation: As for my own name,
let it be a thousand times,
five hundred bandied;
but should your name be spoken,
I would weep, I'd grieve for it
Meaning: My own name may be bandied about a thousand or five hundred times, but if your name were talked of, I would weep for it.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 731

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Three poems sent by Ōtomo no Sakanoue no Ōiratsume to Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi"
Her own name may be talked about a thousand times over, she says, but if his were, she would weep for it. It shows a deep love that values his honor above her own. Yakamochi answers it in the next poem.
The author, Ōtomo no Sakanoue no Ōiratsume, was the daughter of Ōtomo no Sukunamaro and Lady Sakanoue, and later became Ōtomo no Yakamochi's principal wife.

First line, "As for my own name," means my name, wa mo adding feeling.
Second line, "let it be a thousand times," names a thousand, five hundred names, exaggerating the gossip.
Third line, "five hundred bandied," means even though it be spread; the poem breaks after this line.
Fourth line, "but should your name be spoken," means if your name were talked of.
Fifth line, "I would weep, I'd grieve for it," closes koso with the perfective nake: I would weep in regret.
Author: Ōtomo no Sakanoue no Ōiratsume
Source: Manyoshu
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