Tamasaka ni waga mishi hito o ika naramu yoshi o mochite ka mata hitome mimu

たまさかに我が見し人をいかならむ
よしをもちてかまた一目見む

Roma-ji: Tamasaka ni waga mishi hito o ika naramu yoshi o mochite ka mata hitome mimu
English Translation: Only by sheer chance
did I once catch sight of her;
by what manner now,
by what means could I contrive
just to see her once again
Meaning: By what means could I ever see once more, even for a single glance, the one I happened to see just by chance?
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2396

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing One's Feelings Directly"
Having seen someone just once by chance, the speaker wishes somehow to catch even one more glimpse; the poem reveals a simple love that keeps longing to meet again without finding any means to do so.
In the Chinese-character text, "tamasaka" is written with characters meaning "jewel slope," used for their sound. Like "the girl who appeared faintly and was gone" two poems earlier, the poems continue to sing of longing for one glimpsed only briefly. The word "yoshi" also appears in "with no means to meet" in poem 2402 of this book, and the two share a lament over having no means in 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, "tamasaka ni": "by chance, unexpectedly," showing that the encounter was not foreseen.
Second line, "waga mishi hito o": "the one I saw." "Shi," the attributive form of the past auxiliary "ki," marks it as a single meeting already past.
Third line, "ika naramu": "what kind of." Containing the conjectural auxiliary "mu," it conveys having no idea of any means.
Fourth line, "yoshi o mochite ka": "by means of what way." The particle "ka" asks a question and forms a kakari-musubi with "mu" in the last line.
Fifth line, "mata hitome mimu": "could I see her once more at a glance." Answering "ka" in the fourth line, it closes with "mu" in the attributive form, and "a single glance" carries a poignant wish for even the briefest sight.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection
Source: Manyoshu
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