Ōkimi no miyuki no manima wagimoko ga tamakura makazu tsuki zo henikeru

大君の行幸のまにま我妹子が
手枕まかず月ぞ経にける

Roma-ji: Ōkimi no miyuki no manima wagimoko ga tamakura makazu tsuki zo henikeru
English Translation: Following my lord
on his royal progress,
from my dear wife's arms
I have taken no pillow,
and a month has slipped away
Meaning: Following our sovereign on his royal progress, never pillowing my head on my dear wife's arm, I have let a whole month slip away.
Commentary: Book Six Miscellaneous Poems 1032

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Two poems composed by Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi at the temporary palace of Sazama"
This poem laments the length of the journey: following the sovereign's progress, the poet has not slept pillowed on his wife's arm, and now the month has changed. The progress, which left the capital in the tenth month, has continued into the next, and the poem conveys his sense of how long he has been away from home.
These two poems date from the journey of Tenpyō 12 (740), when Emperor Shōmu made a progress to the province of Ise following the rebellion of Fujiwara no Hirotsugu, Junior Assistant Governor-General of Dazaifu, the so-called progress to the east. According to the headnote, Ōtomo no Yakamochi composed them at the temporary palace of Sazama, whose location is uncertain.
The poet, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, was the son of Ōtomo no Tabito and at this time served as a Palace Guard in attendance on the Emperor. He later held posts such as governor of Etchū and rose to Middle Counselor. He is a poet thought to have been deeply involved in the compilation of the Man'yōshū.

"From my dear wife's arms I have taken no pillow" speaks of the wife's arm as a pillow, as do 1029, "the sleeves of my beloved come to my mind," and 1036, "pillowed on my beloved's arm I would have slept," showing the longing for home that runs through Yakamochi's poems on this progress.
The first line, "Following my lord," refers to the Emperor and shows that the journey is a public duty in attendance on the sovereign.
The second line, "on his royal progress," means "as the progress goes," expressing a journey from which the poet cannot return of his own will.
The third line, "from my dear wife's arms," renders "wagimoko," an affectionate term for a wife or beloved.
The fourth line, "I have taken no pillow," uses "maku," meaning to use as a pillow or to sleep together, conveying the nights spent apart from his wife.
The final line, "and a month has slipped away," is a kakari-musubi construction in which the particle "zo" is answered by "keru," the attributive form of the past auxiliary "keri," heightening the surprise and grief at the passage of time.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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