Yamabiko no aitoyomu made tsumagoi ni ka naku yamabe ni hitori nomi shite

山彦の相響むまで妻恋ひに
鹿鳴く山辺に独りのみして

Roma-ji: Yamabiko no aitoyomu made tsumagoi ni ka naku yamabe ni hitori nomi shite
English Translation: Until the echoes
answer back across the hills,
longing for their mates
the deer cry on the mountainside,
and here I am, alone
Meaning: On the mountainside where the deer cry for their mates until the echoes answer back, here I am, all alone.
Commentary: Book Eight Autumn Miscellaneous Poems 1602

Headnote: "Two poems on the crying of the deer by Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi"
On a mountainside where deer cry for their mates until the echoes answer back, the poet is all alone. Amid the deer's calls echoing through the mountains, the loneliness of being apart from the one he loves pierces him all the more. The note says, "The above two poems were composed on the sixteenth day of the eighth month, Tenpyō 15 (743)."
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 the echoes that ring in the mountains. 1497 of this book likewise sings of a bird's voice "setting the mountain echoes ringing."
The second line means "until they echo back and forth," showing how loud the deer cry.
The third line means "longing for their mates."
The fourth line means "on the mountainside where deer cry." The third and fourth lines share the words of Ishikawa no Hironari's 1600 in this book.
The final line, "all alone," breaks off unfinished, contrasting the deer calling their mates with the poet alone and leaving the loneliness to linger.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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