Ime no ai wa kurushikarikeri odorokite kakisaguredomo te ni mo fureneba

夢の逢ひは苦しかりけりおどろきて
掻き探れども手にも触れねば

Roma-ji: Ime no ai wa kurushikarikeri odorokite kakisaguredomo te ni mo fureneba
English Translation: Meetings in a dream,
how they torment me, I find;
waking with a start,
though I grope around for you,
nothing meets my reaching hand
Meaning: Meeting you in dreams is painful; when I wake with a start and grope for you, there is nothing to touch.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 741

Headnote: "Fifteen more poems sent by Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi to the Elder Daughter of Sakanoue"
This is the first of fifteen poems Yakamochi sent to the Elder Daughter. Meeting her in a dream is painful, he says, for when he wakes and gropes for her there is nothing there. It is thought to draw on a passage in the Chinese tale Youxianku (The Dwelling of Playful Goddesses), bringing learning in Chinese letters to a love poem.
The author, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, was the son of Ōtomo no Tabito and a poet thought to have been deeply involved in compiling the Man'yōshū. He later rose to the rank of Middle Counselor.

First line, "Meetings in a dream," runs to six syllables.
Second line, "how they torment me, I find," uses keri for realization: they are painful. The poem breaks after this line.
Third line, "waking with a start," uses odoroku, "to wake."
Fourth line, "though I grope around for you," means though I feel about with my hands.
Fifth line, "nothing meets my reaching hand," gives the reason by inversion: since I touch nothing.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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