Uchihisasu miyaji o hito wa michi yukedo aga omou kimi wa tada hitori nomi

うち日さす宮道を人は満ち行けど
我が思ふ君はただひとりのみ

Roma-ji: Uchihisasu miyaji o hito wa michi yukedo aga omou kimi wa tada hitori nomi
English Translation: Along the palace
road where the sun shines brightly,
people throng and pass,
yet the one whom I love
is only you, and you alone
Meaning: People crowd the road to the palace, yet the one I love is you, and only you.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2382

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing One's Feelings Directly"
Many people come and go along the road to the palace, yet the one the speaker's heart turns to is the beloved alone: so the poem says. Setting the crowds filling the road against a single beloved, it vividly shows a love directed at one person.
The headnote continues from the preceding poem, "Expressing One's Feelings Directly." Its ingenuity lies in expressing single-minded love through the contrast of many and one against the bustle of the capital. It is a clearly built love poem that turns from the concrete scene of the palace road to the feeling of love.
The author is unknown; according to the left note, the poem comes from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection. That collection is thought to contain both Hitomaro's own poems and poems by others that he recorded. Kakinomoto no Hitomaro was a court poet active in the reigns of Empress Jito and Emperor Monmu, and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "uchihisasu": a pillow word attached to "miya," palace. It is thought to mean "where the sunlight shines," lending the palace a sense of splendor.
Second line, "miyaji o hito wa": "miyaji" is the road leading to the palace. The particle "wa" singles out the many people on the road, setting them against "kimi wa" in the fourth line.
Third line, "michi yukedo": "though they fill the road as they go." The concessive "do" turns the poem toward its closing lines.
Fourth line, "aga omou kimi wa": "the one I love." Contrasted with "hito wa" in the second line, it picks out one person from among the many.
Fifth line, "tada hitori nomi": "only one." Limited by the particle "nomi" and ending on a noun, it strongly shows the single-mindedness of love.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection
Source: Manyoshu
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