Amazakaru hina ni itsutose sumaitsutsu miyako no teburi wasurae ni keri

天離る鄙に五年住まひつつ
都のてぶり忘らえにけり

Roma-ji: Amazakaru hina ni itsutose sumaitsutsu miyako no teburi wasurae ni keri
English Translation: Far as heaven lies
this countryside where five years
I have made my home,
and the manners of the capital
I have quite forgotten now
Meaning: Living five years in this countryside as far off as the sky, I have quite forgotten the ways of the capital.
Commentary: Book Five Miscellaneous Poems 880

Headnote: "Three poems daring to set out my private feelings"
The poet laments that, having lived five years in a remote province, he has quite forgotten the ways of the capital. At the send-off for Tabito's return, he frankly confides the forlornness of one left behind in Tsukushi.
"Daring to set out my private feelings" in the headnote means he ventures to speak of personal wishes, following the farewell poems. The left note says they were respectfully presented by Yamanoue no Okura, Governor of Chikuzen, on the sixth day of the twelfth month of Tenpyō 2.
The poet, Yamanoue no Okura, was an official who went to Tang China as a junior secretary with the embassy appointed in Taihō 1. After his return he served as Governor of Hōki and in the household of the Crown Prince, and late in the Jinki era he was posted to Tsukushi as Governor of Chikuzen. He is known for poems rooted in everyday life, on the sufferings of human existence, love for family, and poverty, written against a background of learning in Chinese classics and Buddhist scripture.

First line, "amazakaru": "far as the heavens," a pillow word for the countryside.
Second line, "hina ni itsutose": "hina" is the country far from the capital; five years in Tsukushi.
Third line, "sumaitsutsu": "living on and on," conveying the weight of the years.
Fourth line, "miyako no teburi": "teburi" means customs, the refined manners of the capital.
Fifth line, "wasurae ni keri": "e" is spontaneous and "keri" exclaims: I have forgotten without meaning to.
Author: Yamanoue no Okura
Source: Manyoshu
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