Itoma nami satsuki o sura ni wagimoko ga hanatachibana o mizu ka suginamu

暇なみ五月をすらに我妹子が
花橘を見ずか過ぎなむ

Roma-ji: Itoma nami satsuki o sura ni wagimoko ga hanatachibana o mizu ka suginamu
English Translation: Having no spare time,
even in the fifth month now,
at my dear girl's house
the orange trees in flower,
must I pass them by unseen?
Meaning: With no time to spare, must I let even the fifth month pass without seeing the orange blossoms at your house?
Commentary: Book Eight Summer Love Poems 1504

Headnote: "A poem by Takayasu"
Pressed by official duties, the poet laments that even in the fifth month, when the orange blossoms are at their peak, he may let it pass without seeing the orange tree at his beloved's house. Seeing the flowers is laid over visiting his love.
The author, Prince Takayasu, was a member of the imperial family said to descend from Emperor Bidatsu. He was later granted the surname Ōhara no Mahito and called himself Ōhara no Takayasu.

The first line means "because I have no time." Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue's 1498 in this book opens with the same line, from the standpoint of a woman waiting for a man who does not come because he is busy. This poem, conversely, is the lament of the man who cannot visit for lack of time.
In the second line, "sura" means "even," lamenting that he will let even the fifth month, the orange tree's prime, slip by.
The third line names the woman he loves.
The fourth line names the orange blossoms at her house.
The final line, with the interrogative "ka," perfective "na," and conjectural "mu," laments: must it pass without my seeing them?
Author: Prince Takayasu
Source: Manyoshu
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