Tamakushiro makinuru imo mo araba koso yo no nagakeku mo ureshiku arubeki

玉釧まき寝る妹もあらばこそ
夜の長けくも嬉しくあるべき

Roma-ji: Tamakushiro makinuru imo mo araba koso yo no nagakeku mo ureshiku arubeki
English Translation: Like a jeweled bracelet,
if I had a wife to hold
in my arms in sleep,
then the length of the night
would surely be a joy
Meaning: If only I had a wife to sleep with in my arms, like a bracelet wound about the wrist, then even the length of the night would be a joy.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts Directly 2865

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts Directly"
By supposing that a long night would be a joy if he had a wife to share it, the poet laments from the other side the length and pain of nights spent alone. The hypothetical form only brings the loneliness of reality into sharper relief.
The poet is unknown. Book Twelve, titled the second part of "Love Poems Exchanged Old and New," gathers love poems by people whose names have not come down to us, arranged by category.

Line one, "tamakushiro," is a jeweled bracelet; because it is wound around the arm, it is a pillow word for "maku," to wind. Poem 3148 in this book also opens "tamakushiro makineshi imo o."
Line two, "makinuru imo mo," means "a wife to sleep with in one's arms."
Line three, "araba koso," means "only if there were," strongly marking the hypothetical condition.
Line four, "yo no nagakeku mo," uses the nominalized form of "nagashi," meaning "even the length of the night."
Line five, "ureshiku arubeki," means "would be a joy," implying that in fact there is no one beside him and the long night is painful.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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