Mochigutachi kiyoki tsukuyo ni wagimoko ni misemu to omoishi yado no tachibana

望ぐたち清き月夜に我妹子に
見せむと思ひしやどの橘

Roma-ji: Mochigutachi kiyoki tsukuyo ni wagimoko ni misemu to omoishi yado no tachibana
English Translation: Just past the full moon,
on a clear and moonlit night,
to you, my dear one,
I had meant to show them so,
the orange blossoms of my garden
Meaning: The orange blossoms in my garden, which I had meant to show you on a clear moonlit night just past the full moon.
Commentary: Book Eight Summer Love Poems 1508

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem [with tanka] by Ōtomo no Yakamochi, sent to the Elder Daughter of Sakanoue with orange blossoms he broke off," envoy
The poet sings of the orange blossoms in his garden that he had meant to show his beloved on a clear moonlit night just past the full moon. It is the envoy to the long poem 1507; following the long poem, which tells of breaking off and sending the blossoms he had guarded from the cuckoo, it looks back on the beauty of the orange blossoms on the moonlit night he wished to share.
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 recipient, the Elder Daughter of Sakanoue, was the daughter of Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue and Yakamochi's cousin, and later became his wife.

The first line, "mochigutachi," means the time just after the full moon when it begins to wane.
The second line, "on a clear moonlit night," suggests the beauty of white orange blossoms in the moonlight.
The third line names the woman he loves, here the Elder Daughter of Sakanoue.
The fourth line means "that I had meant to show." The same line appears in Yamabe no Akahito's 1426 in this book; there it is plum blossoms lost in snow, here orange blossoms on a moonlit night, so the flowers one wished to show correspond between spring and summer.
The final line ends on a noun, placing last the orange blossoms he wished to show and leaving the unfulfilled wish as a lingering resonance.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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