Tama no o no kukuri yosetsutsu sue tsui ni yuki wa wakarezu onaji o ni aramu

玉の緒のくくり寄せつつ末つひに
行きは別れず同じ緒にあらむ

Roma-ji: Tama no o no kukuri yosetsutsu sue tsui ni yuki wa wakarezu onaji o ni aramu
English Translation: As a cord of jewels
is gathered up and bound tight,
so to the very end
we shall go on, never parted,
threaded on the self-same cord
Meaning: As the ends of a cord of jewels are tied and drawn together, so in the end we shall never part on our way, but remain threaded on the same single cord.
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2790

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
As the ends of a cord of jewels are drawn together and tied, so the speaker vows that the two will never part in the days to come but stay together like jewels threaded on one cord. Laying the bond of the lovers over a knotted cord, the poem sings of the wish to remain together for all time.
In the sequence on the cord of jewels, the two preceding poems sang of the cord snapping and the jewels scattering, while this poem ties the cord together and speaks of never parting; love broken and scattered, and love bound and inseparable, form a pair. Like "taeji to omou" in poem 2787, it is a poem that wishes the bond to last.
The author is unknown. The anonymous poems of Book Eleven gather the love poems of people whose names have not come down to us.

First line, "tama no o no": "of the cord of jewels." Through the second line it forms a preface leading to "sue" (end), from tying together the ends of the cord.
Second line, "kukuri yosetsutsu": "tying and drawing together." "Tsutsu" expresses continuation, describing the two ends of the cord being bound.
Third line, "sue tsui ni": "in the end, at last." "Sue" layers the end of the cord with the future, turning from preface to the poem's main point.
Fourth line, "yuki wa wakarezu": "our way does not part." The particle "wa" sets off the way ahead, and the negative "zu" declares that they will not separate.
Fifth line, "onaji o ni aramu": "we shall be on the same cord." "Mu" expresses will, wishing that the two stay together like jewels on a single cord. Repeating "o" (cord) from the first line, it rounds off the poem.
Source: Manyoshu
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