Tsubaichi no yaso no chimata ni tachinarashi musubishi himo o tokamaku oshi mo

海石榴市の八十の街に立ち平し
結びし紐を解かまく惜しも

Roma-ji: Tsubaichi no yaso no chimata ni tachinarashi musubishi himo o tokamaku oshi mo
English Translation: At Tsubaichi,
where the many roads all meet,
I stamped the ground,
and the cord I tied there
I am loath to loosen now
Meaning: I am reluctant to untie the cord I tied at the song-gathering, where I stamped the ground at the many crossroads of Tsubaichi market.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts Directly 2951

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts Directly"
The poem tells of a cord tied when vows were exchanged at the song-gathering at Tsubaichi market, and of reluctance to untie it. A utagaki was a gathering where men and women exchanged songs in search of partners, and the poem shows a heart that cherishes the memory of a bond made there.
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, "Tsubaichi no," names a market that stood in present-day Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, known as a place where song-gatherings were held. Poem 3101 in this book uses the same place and phrase, "Tsubaichi no yaso no chimata ni."
Line two, "yaso no chimata ni," means "at the many crossroads."
Line three, "tachinarashi," means "standing again and again, stamping the ground," showing participation in the song-gathering.
Line four, "musubishi himo o," means "the cord tied when vows were exchanged at the gathering."
Line five, "tokamaku oshi mo," means "I am loath to untie it," cherishing the memory of that time.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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