Matamatsuku ochikochi kanete musubitsuru waga shitabimo no tokuru hi arame ya

真玉つくをちこち兼ねて結びつる
我が下紐の解くる日あらめや

Roma-ji: Matamatsuku ochikochi kanete musubitsuru waga shitabimo no tokuru hi arame ya
English Translation: Like jewels on a cord,
for now and for the days ahead
I tied it firmly,
this under-sash of mine,
will it ever come undone
Meaning: I tied my under-sash with thoughts of both now and the years to come; will there ever be a day it comes undone?
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts through Things 2973

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts through Things"
The poet vows that the under-sash, tied with thoughts of both present and future, will never come undone, pledging not to give the heart to anyone else. It is taken as a vow exchanged at a dawn parting.
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, "matamatsuku," is a pillow word for "ochi," the same opening as poem 2853 in this book.
Line two, "ochikochi kanete," means "keeping in mind both the future and the present."
Line three, "musubitsuru," means "which I tied."
Line four, "waga shitabimo no," means "my under-sash."
Line five, "tokuru hi arame ya," is a rhetorical question, "will there be a day it comes undone? Never," vowing not to give herself to another.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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