Waga yado no hanatachibana wa chirisugite tama ni nukubeku mi ni narinikeri

我が宿の花橘は散り過ぎて
玉に貫くべく実になりにけり

Roma-ji: Waga yado no hanatachibana wa chirisugite tama ni nukubeku mi ni narinikeri
English Translation: In my garden here
the orange tree's blossoms
have all fallen now,
and fit to be strung as beads,
its fruit has come to be
Meaning: The orange blossoms in my garden have all fallen, and now the tree has borne fruit fit to be strung as beads.
Commentary: Book Eight Summer Miscellaneous Poems 1489

Headnote: "A poem by Ōtomo no Yakamochi regretting the orange blossoms"
The poet sings that the orange blossoms in his garden have all fallen and the tree has borne fruit fit to be strung as beads. As the headnote's "regretting the orange blossoms" says, even as he watches the fruit ripen, he regrets that the season of flowers has passed.
The author, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, was a son of Ōtomo no Tabito and an official of the Nara period. He rose to the post of Middle Counselor, is thought to have been closely involved in compiling the Man'yōshū, and left more poems than anyone else in the anthology.

The first line names his own garden.
The second line names the orange tree that had been in flower.
The third line, "have all fallen," marks the end of the flowering season.
The fourth line means "fit to be strung as beads." Just as 1465 of this book seeks to string the bird's voice with the fifth-month beads, threading beads recurs throughout the summer poems.
The final line, with the perfective "ni" and exclamatory "keri," expresses deep feeling at the ripening. The courtesan's poem 1492 in this book likewise sings of an orange tree whose flowers have passed into fruit.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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