Yamashiro no Iwata no mori ni kokoro osoku tamuke shitare ya imo ni aikataki

山背の石田の社に心おそく
手向けしたれや妹に逢ひかたき

Roma-ji: Yamashiro no Iwata no mori ni kokoro osoku tamuke shitare ya imo ni aikataki
English Translation: At Iwata shrine
in the land of Yamashiro,
was my heart too slow
when I made my offering,
that she is so hard to meet
Meaning: Is it because I made my offering at the shrine of Iwata in Yamashiro too carelessly that it is so hard to meet my beloved?
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts through Things 2856

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts through Things"
The poet wonders whether the reason he cannot meet his beloved is that he was careless in making an offering at a shrine along the way. It reflects the custom of presenting offerings to the gods on a journey to pray for safe passage and the fulfillment of one's wishes.
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro was a court poet who served under Empress Jitō and Emperor Monmu. The left note shows that this poem was taken from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection, though scholars differ on whether it is Hitomaro's own work or a song he recorded.

Line one, "Yamashiro no," names the province corresponding to southern Kyoto Prefecture today.
Line two, "Iwata no mori ni," refers to a shrine at Iwata in Yamashiro, thought to be around Iwata in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto.
Line three, "kokoro osoku," means "with a dull heart," carelessly.
Line four, "tamuke shitare ya": "ya" is an interrogative particle, surmising "is it because I made the offering so?", and it is concluded by the attributive "kataki" in line five.
Line five, "imo ni aikataki," means "it is hard to meet her," locating the cause of their separation in a lack of devotion to the gods.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection
Source: Manyoshu
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