Waga yado ni momitsu kaerude miru goto ni imo o kaketsutsu koinu hi wa nashi

我が宿にもみつ蝦手見るごとに
妹を懸けつつ恋ひぬ日はなし

Roma-ji: Waga yado ni momitsu kaerude miru goto ni imo o kaketsutsu koinu hi wa nashi
English Translation: In my garden here,
the maple turning autumn red:
every time I look,
you are ever in my heart,
not a day but that I long
Meaning: Each time I see the maple turning red in my garden, you are in my heart, my sister; not a day passes that I do not long for you.
Commentary: Book Eight Autumn Love Poems 1623

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Two poems given by the Elder Daughter of Ōtomo of Tamura to her younger sister, the Elder Daughter of Sakanoue"
Each time she sees the maple turning red in her garden, she holds her sister in her heart, and not a day passes without longing. Within the daily act of looking at the reddening maple, it shows a heart that is never without thoughts of her sister.
The author, the Elder Daughter of Ōtomo of Tamura, was a daughter of Ōtomo no Sukunamaro and an elder half-sister of the Elder Daughter of Sakanoue. She is called by this name because she lived in the village of Tamura.

The first line means "in my garden," taking up "my garden" of the preceding poem and singing of the same garden.
The second line means "the maple that has colored." "Kaerude," frog's hand, is so named because its leaves resemble a frog's hand. Whereas the preceding poem sang of autumn clover, this one sings of the reddening maple, so the two poems divide the colors of the autumn garden between them.
The third line means "each time I see it."
The fourth line means "keeping my sister in my heart."
The final line states that there is no day without longing, expressing her unchanging feeling for her sister.
Author: Ōtomo no Tamura no Ōiratsume
Source: Manyoshu
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