Satobito mo kataritsugu gane yoshieyashi koite mo shinamu ta ga na narame ya

里人も語り継ぐがねよしゑやし
恋ひても死なむ誰が名ならめや

Roma-ji: Satobito mo kataritsugu gane yoshieyashi koite mo shinamu ta ga na narame ya
English Translation: So the village folk
may tell the tale for years to come,
well then, let it be:
I will die of love, and whose name
will they speak of then but yours
Meaning: So that the villagers may hand the story down, so be it: I will die of love, and whose name will be on their lips then but yours?
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts Directly 2873

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts Directly"
The poet declares a willingness to die of love and become the talk of the village, adding that it is the beloved's name that will then be on everyone's lips. Within this defiant resolve lies resentment toward a cold-hearted lover.
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, "satobito mo," means "the village folk, too."
Line two, "kataritsugu gane": "gane" is a final particle meaning "so that," wishing that the story be handed down.
Line three, "yoshieyashi," is an exclamation of resolve, "so be it."
Line four, "koite mo shinamu," means "I will die of longing."
Line five, "ta ga na narame ya," is a rhetorical question, "whose name will it be? None but yours," reproaching the beloved. The last line of poem 3105 in this book, "ta ga na naramu mo," rests on the same idea.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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