Tamakagiru kinō no yūbe mishi mono o kyō no ashita ni kou beki mono ka

玉かぎる昨日の夕見しものを
今日の朝に恋ふべきものか

Roma-ji: Tamakagiru kinō no yūbe mishi mono o kyō no ashita ni kou beki mono ka
English Translation: Like a jewel's faint gleam,
yesterday in the evening
I was there with you,
yet in this morning today
must I already long so
Meaning: I saw you only yesterday evening, yet should I already be longing for you this morning?
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2391

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing One's Feelings Directly"
The speaker met the beloved only the evening before, yet is already longing the next morning, and wonders in surprise whether this is what love is. Through the brevity of time, the poem vividly shows how swiftly love grows after just a single night apart.
Pairing "yesterday evening" with "this morning," it highlights how little time has passed since parting. Here "tamakagiru" modifies "evening," while in poem 2394 of this book "tamakakiru" modifies "faintly," so the two stand side by side as examples of one pillow word leading to different words.
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, "tamakagiru": a pillow word attached to "evening." It is said to mean the faint gleam of a jewel and suggests the soft light of dusk.
Second line, "kinō no yūbe": "yesterday evening." It pairs with "this morning" in the fourth line, showing that only one night has passed since they met.
Third line, "mishi mono o": "though I saw you." "To see" here means to meet and be together, and "mono o" is concessive, carrying the poem into its second half.
Fourth line, "kyō no ashita ni": "this morning." Set beside "yesterday evening," it stresses how short the interval is.
Fifth line, "kou beki mono ka": "is it something I should long for?" The particle "ka" asks a question, closing the poem with surprise at an unexpected longing.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection
Source: Manyoshu
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