Kaerinishi hito o omou to nubatama no sono yo wa ware mo i mo nekaneteki

帰りにし人を思ふとぬばたまの
その夜は我れも寐も寝かねてき

Roma-ji: Kaerinishi hito o omou to nubatama no sono yo wa ware mo i mo nekaneteki
English Translation: Thinking of the one
who has gone back home again,
that jet-black night
I too could find no sleep,
no rest at all for me
Meaning: Thinking of him who had gone home, that night I too could not sleep at all.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems 3269

Headnote: "Envoy"
This is the envoy to the chōka (3268). Worrying for one who went home through rain and wind, she could not sleep that night herself. The chōka is a woman’s song: clouds gathered over the sacred hill of Mimoro, rain fell and even the wind blew, and she wonders whether the man who went back across the plain of Makami reached home safely. The envoy shifts the focus to herself that night, quietly conveying her concern for him.
The poet is unknown. Book Thirteen is built mainly of anonymous chōka and their envoys, and many of its poems preserve the air of old songs and ritual verse.

The first line, “kaerinishi,” means “who has gone back,” the perfective “nu” and past “ki” marking the time after parting. It takes up the chōka’s “the one who went back” directly.
The second line, “hito o omou to,” means “thinking of him,” giving the reason she could not sleep.
The third line, “nubatama no,” is a pillow word for “night”; because the nubatama seed is black, it introduces words of blackness and night.
In the fourth line, “mo” in “ware mo” conveys “I too,” just like him going through the rain.
In the closing line, “i” means sleep, doubled with “ne” (to sleep); “kane” means unable, and “teki” marks completion and past: she could not sleep.
Source: Manyoshu
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