Wakakereba michiyuki shiraji mai wa semu shitae no tsukai oite tōrase

若ければ道行き知らじ賄はせむ
黄泉の使負ひて通らせ

Roma-ji: Wakakereba michiyuki shiraji mai wa semu shitae no tsukai oite tōrase
English Translation: He is so little
he will not know the way to go;
I will give you gifts —
messenger of the Underworld,
carry him upon your back
Meaning: He is so young he will not know the way. I will give you gifts: messenger of the underworld, carry him on your back and let him pass.
Commentary: Book Five Miscellaneous Poems 905

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Three poems yearning for a boy named Furuhi: one long, two short"
The poet begs the messenger of the underworld to carry his young child on his back, since the child will not know the way, promising gifts in return. A parent's concern even for his dead child's path is voiced as a plea to the messenger of the dead.
These poems mourn the death of a boy named Furuhi and consist of one long poem and two tanka. The long poem tells how Furuhi, dearer than the seven treasures the world prizes, would never leave his parents' bedside in the morning and would ask at night to sleep between them, yet fell unexpectedly ill and, despite prayers to the gods of heaven and earth, at last lost his life; it is told with anguished grief. The left note says that the author is unknown but, because the style resembles that of Yamanoue no Okura, the poems were placed here.

First line, "wakakereba": "because he is young," giving the child's youth as the reason.
Second line, "michiyuki shiraji": "he will not know the way" to the other world; the poem breaks here.
Third line, "mai wa semu": "mai" is a gift or offering, and "mu" expresses intent. The poem breaks here as well.
Fourth line, "shitae no tsukai": "shitae" is the underground land of the dead; he calls out to its messenger.
Fifth line, "oite tōrase": "carry him and let him pass," closing with an imperative entrusting the child.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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