Ōtomo no mitsu no matsubara kakihakite ware tachimatamu haya kaerimase

大伴の御津の松原かき掃きて
我れ立ち待たむ早帰りませ

Roma-ji: Ōtomo no mitsu no matsubara kakihakite ware tachimatamu haya kaerimase
English Translation: At Ōtomo's
Mitsu, the pine grove I shall
sweep and make it clean,
and there standing I will wait —
come back home to us soon
Meaning: I will sweep clean the pine grove at Mitsu in Ōtomo and stand there waiting for you. Come back soon.
Commentary: Book Five Miscellaneous Poems 895

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem for a good going and a good return, with two envoys"
The poet promises to sweep clean the pine grove at Mitsu in Naniwa and stand there waiting, and asks the ambassador to return soon. By describing the concrete actions of one who waits, he conveys his earnest prayer for a safe return.
This is an envoy to the "Poem for a Good Going and a Good Return," which Yamanoue no Okura presented in Tenpyō 5 to Tajihi no Hironari, Ambassador to Tang China, praying for a safe voyage and a swift homecoming. "Good going, good return" means "fare well there and back." The long poem begins by declaring that Yamato is a land made majestic by its imperial gods and blessed by the power of words, and prays that the gods of the sea, of heaven and earth, and the Great Spirit of the Land of Yamato will guide and guard the ship, bringing it straight from Cape Chika to the beach of Mitsu in Naniwa on the day it returns. The left note says Okura met the ambassador at his home on the first day of the third month of Tenpyō 5 and presented the poem on the third.
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, "Ōtomo no": a pillow word for Mitsu, since the area around the port of Naniwa had once been Ōtomo land.
Second line, "Mitsu no matsubara": the pine grove of the port of Naniwa from which the embassy ships sailed.
Third line, "kakihakite": sweeping it clean, preparing to welcome an honored guest.
Fourth line, "ware tachimatamu": "mu" expresses intent, "I will stand and wait"; the poem breaks here.
Fifth line, "haya kaerimase": repeating the last line of the long poem, closing with the plea: come back soon.
Author: Yamanoue no Okura
Source: Manyoshu
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