Hitozuma ni iu wa ta ga koto sagoromo no kono himo toke to iu wa ta ga koto

人妻に言ふは誰が言さ衣の
この紐解けと言ふは誰が言

Roma-ji: Hitozuma ni iu wa ta ga koto sagoromo no kono himo toke to iu wa ta ga koto
English Translation: To a married wife,
whose words are these you speak?
"The cord of your robe,
come, untie it now," you say,
whose words are these you speak
Meaning: Whose words are these, spoken to a married woman? "Untie the cord of your robe," you say: whose words are these?
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts Directly 2866

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts Directly"
A married woman sharply rebuffs a man who propositions her. Its structure, repeating the same phrase in lines two and five, has the quality of a folk song, and it may have been sung at gatherings.
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, "hitozuma ni," means "to a married woman," indicating that the speaker is herself married.
Line two, "iu wa ta ga koto," demands "whose words are these you speak?", and the poem pauses here.
Line three, "sagoromo no": "sa" is a prefix, and the word means a robe.
Line four, "kono himo toke to," means "untie this cord," the man's request to sleep with her.
Line five, "iu wa ta ga koto," repeats line two, pressing the question again and firmly rejecting his impertinence.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Tamakushiro makinuru imo mo araba koso yo no nagakeku mo ureshiku arubeki
Next Poem: Kakubakari koimu mono zo to shiramaseba sono yo wa yuta ni aramashi mono o