Ika naramu na ou kami ni tamuke seba aga omou imo o ime ni dani mimu

いかならむ名負ふ神に手向けせば
我が思ふ妹を夢にだに見む

Roma-ji: Ika naramu na ou kami ni tamuke seba aga omou imo o ime ni dani mimu
English Translation: To which of the gods,
which god of a famous name,
should I make offering,
so the girl I hold so dear
I might see, if just in dreams?
Meaning: To what god of renowned name should I make offerings, so that I might see the girl I love, if only in a dream?
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2418

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
The speaker asks to which renowned god he should make offerings so that he might at least see his beloved in a dream, and the poem has the tone of a desperate plea. Unable to meet her in reality, or even to see her in dreams, he turns to the power of the gods out of earnest need.
This is one of the poems about gods, speaking through an offering to a god. Poem 2412 in this book laments being unable to sleep though wishing to see the beloved in a dream, and this one also longs for a meeting in dreams. The same grief of not meeting even in a dream is approached from two sides: the sleepless self, and the prayer that relies on a god.
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, "ika naramu": "what kind of?" It is an interrogative that leads on to the wish in the lines that follow.
Second line, "na ou kami ni": "to a god of renowned name." "Na ou" means bearing a name, being worthy of it.
Third line, "tamuke seba": "if I were to make offering." "Tamuke" is presenting offerings such as cloth to a god, and "seba" expresses a supposition.
Fourth line, "aga omou imo o": "the girl I love." "Imo" is a term of endearment used by a man for his lover or wife.
Fifth line, "ime ni dani mimu": "might I see her, if only in a dream?" The particle "dani" expresses the least of wishes, and in answer to "ika naramu" in the first line, the poem closes by asking for the means to fulfil it.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection
Source: Manyoshu
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