Isonokami Furu no takahashi takadaka ni imo ga matsuramu yo zo fukenikeru

石上布留の高橋高々に
妹が待つらむ夜ぞ更けにける

Roma-ji: Isonokami Furu no takahashi takadaka ni imo ga matsuramu yo zo fukenikeru
English Translation: At Isonokami,
like the high bridge over Furu,
on tiptoe high
my darling must be waiting,
and the night has grown so late
Meaning: Like the high bridge at Furu in Isonokami, my beloved must be waiting on tiptoe for me, and now the night has grown late.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts through Things 2997

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts through Things"
A man on his way to his beloved worries that the night has grown late, thinking of her waiting for him on tiptoe. The introduction leading from the high bridge at Furu to "takadaka ni" impresses on us the figure of one who waits.
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, "Isonokami," refers to the area of Isonokami in Tenri, Nara Prefecture, and is a pillow word for "Furu."
Line two, "Furu no takahashi," is the high bridge over the Furu River, and the lines up to here form an introduction leading to "takadaka ni."
Line three, "takadaka ni," describes waiting eagerly on tiptoe. The same word appears in poems 3005 and 3220 in this book; the book's final poem, 3220, in particular sings the same scene from the woman's side: "takadaka ni kimi matsu yora wa sayo fukenikeri."
Line four, "imo ga matsuramu," means "my beloved must be waiting."
Line five, "yo zo fukenikeru": "zo" is concluded by the attributive "keru," showing worry over arriving late.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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