Hototogisu kesa no asake ni nakitsuru wa kimi kikikemu ka asai ka nekemu

霍公鳥今朝の朝明に鳴きつるは
君聞きけむか朝寐か寝けむ

Roma-ji: Hototogisu kesa no asake ni nakitsuru wa kimi kikikemu ka asai ka nekemu
English Translation: Hototogisu
at this morning's early dawn
that one which was singing,
did you hear it, my dear one,
or were you lying late abed?
Meaning: The hototogisu that sang at dawn this morning—did you hear it? Or were you still sleeping in?
Commentary: Book Ten Summer Miscellaneous Poems 1949

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Birds"
This poem wonders whether the beloved heard the hototogisu that sang at dawn, or was sleeping in. The concern over whether they heard the same bird's voice in separate places carries intimacy and longing for the beloved. Within the light questioning tone there is also a faint loving tease.

The first line, "hototogisu," is the subject.
In the second line, "kesa no asake ni," "asake" means dawn.
In the third line, "nakitsuru wa," "tsuru" is the attributive of the completive "tsu."
In the fourth line, "kimi kikikemu ka," "kemu" is past conjecture and "ka" a question. The poem breaks here.
In the last line, "asai ka nekemu," "asai" means sleeping late. Setting two questions side by side, it closes by imagining the beloved's morning.
Source: Manyoshu
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