Makomo karu ōno gawara no migomori ni koikoshi imo ga himo toku ware wa

ま薦刈る大野川原の水隠りに
恋ひ来し妹が紐解く我れは

Roma-ji: Makomo karu ōno gawara no migomori ni koikoshi imo ga himo toku ware wa
English Translation: By Ōno's riverbank
where they cut the wild rushes,
hidden in the stream
I have loved my darling long,
and now I untie her sash
Meaning: Like water hidden in the stream on Ōno's riverbank where wild rice is cut, I have loved her in secret all this time, and now I untie my beloved's sash.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2703

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
The poem sings of the joy of at last being united with a woman loved in secret for a long time, like the stream hidden among the waters of the riverbank at Ōno where wild rice is cut. The moment when long-concealed love is fulfilled is captured in the forceful closing words, "I untie her sash."
The headnote "Expressing Feelings through Things" names a category of poems that convey love through natural objects and scenes, and here hidden love is expressed through the water of a riverbank. Love poems about rivers and water are grouped around this poem. Poem 2707 in this book shares the phrase "migomori ni" but laments a hidden love with no means of meeting, forming a pair with this poem in which love is fulfilled.
The author is unknown. The anonymous poems of Book Eleven gather love poems by people whose names have not been handed down.

First line, "makomo karu": "where wild rice is cut," painting a riverside scene and modifying "Ōno." "Ma" is an honorific prefix.
Second line, "ōno gawara no": "of the riverbank at Ōno." Where Ōno lies is not certain. From the first line through the third, the scene becomes an image of unseen love.
Third line, "migomori ni": "hidden in the water," expressing love kept secret from others. The scene of the upper verse becomes a metaphor for concealed love.
Fourth line, "koikoshi imo ga": "of the beloved I have long yearned for." The attributive "shi" of the auxiliary "ki" marks the long time of secret love.
Fifth line, "himo toku ware wa": "I untie her sash," meaning to share a bed and be united. Placing "ware wa" (I) at the end through inversion brings out joy and pride.
Source: Manyoshu
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