Hitoeyama henareru mono o tsukuyo yomi kado ni idetachi imo ka matsuramu

一重山へなれるものを月夜よみ
門に出で立ち妹か待つらむ

Roma-ji: Hitoeyama henareru mono o tsukuyo yomi kado ni idetachi imo ka matsuramu
English Translation: Just a single range
of mountains lies between us;
since the moon is fair,
standing out beside the gate,
is my wife now waiting there
Meaning: Though a single range of mountains lies between us, the moon is so fair that my wife may be standing at her gate waiting for me.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 765

Headnote: "A poem composed by Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi while at the Kuni capital, thinking of the Elder Daughter of Sakanoue who remained at the house in Nara"
While at the Kuni capital, Yakamochi thought of the Elder Daughter of Sakanoue left behind in Nara. Though a single range of mountains divides them, the moon is so fair that his wife may be standing at her gate waiting for him. Echoing poem 736, where he himself went out to his gate on a moonlit night to divine, here he pictures his wife at her gate, waiting.
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, "Just a single range," names the one mountain range separating Kuni from Nara.
Second line, "of mountains lies between us," uses henaru, "to be separated": though it divides us.
Third line, "since the moon is fair," uses the construction for a reason: because the moonlit night is fine.
Fourth line, "standing out beside the gate," is the same as the second line of poem 736.
Fifth line, "is my wife now waiting there," uses the questioning ka and present conjectural ramu: may she be waiting?
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Momotose ni oishita idete yoyomu tomo ware wa itowaji koi wa masu tomo
Next Poem: Michi tōmi koji to wa shireru mono kara ni shika zo matsuramu kimi ga me o hori