Kotodeshi wa ta ga koto ni aru ka oyamada no nawashiromizu no nakayodo ni shite

言出しは誰が言にあるか小山田の
苗代水の中淀にして

Roma-ji: Kotodeshi wa ta ga koto ni aru ka oyamada no nawashiromizu no nakayodo ni shite
English Translation: Who was it spoke first,
whose the words that started this;
like the seedbed water
in the little mountain field,
stalled halfway and standing still
Meaning: Whose words were they that first began it all? And now, like the water in a mountain seedbed, it has stalled halfway.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 776

Headnote: "A poem sent in reply by Ki no Iratsume to Yakamochi"
Answering the preceding poem, Ki no Iratsume reproaches Yakamochi's change of heart: it was he who first spoke of love, yet like the water in a mountain seedbed it has stalled halfway.
The author, Ki no Iratsume, was a daughter of Ki no Kanohito, named Oshika, and was the wife of Prince Aki.

First line, "Who was it spoke first," means the one who first spoke.
Second line, "whose the words that started this," means whose words were they? The poem breaks after this line.
Third line, "like the seedbed water," names a small rice field among the hills.
Fourth line, "in the little mountain field," names the water of the seedbed; with the third line it leads to the last line.
Fifth line, "stalled halfway and standing still," names nakayodo, stagnation midway, a figure for their broken-off love.
Author: Ki no Iratsume
Source: Manyoshu
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