Ikeru yo ni ware wa imada mizu koto taete kaku omoshiroku nueru fukuro wa

生ける世に我はいまだ見ず言絶えて
かくおもしろく縫へる袋は

Roma-ji: Ikeru yo ni ware wa imada mizu koto taete kaku omoshiroku nueru fukuro wa
English Translation: In my living days
never yet have I beheld,
past all words to tell,
so delightfully sewn up,
such a pouch as this from you
Meaning: Never in all my life have I seen anything like it: a pouch sewn so exquisitely it is beyond words.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 746

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Fifteen more poems sent by Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi to the Elder Daughter of Sakanoue"
He praises a pouch she sent him as finer than anything he has seen in his life. Along with thanks for the gift, it conveys his love for the one who sewed it.
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, "In my living days," means in my life.
Second line, "never yet have I beheld," runs to eight syllables: I have not yet seen. The poem breaks after this line.
Third line, "past all words to tell," means beyond words.
Fourth line, "so delightfully sewn up," means so splendidly.
Fifth line, "such a pouch as this from you," names the sewn pouch, set last by inversion as the object of praise.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Asayoi ni mimu toki sae ya wagimoko ga miredo minu goto nao koishikemu
Next Poem: Wagimoko ga katami no koromo shita ni kite tada ni au made wa ware nukame ya mo