Musashino no oguki ga kigishi tachiwakare inishi yoi yori sero ni awanau yo

武蔵野のをぐきが雉立ち別れ
去にし宵より背ろに逢はなふよ

Roma-ji: Musashino no oguki ga kigishi tachiwakare inishi yoi yori sero ni awanau yo
English Translation: Out on Musashino,
the pheasant from the hollow
takes flight and parts:
since the evening you went away
I have not met you, my love.
Meaning: Like a pheasant flying up from a hollow on Musashino, you parted from me—and since the evening you left I have not met you, my love.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3375

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
Since the evening her lover parted like a pheasant taking wing from a hollow on Musashino, a woman laments that she has not once met him. The sharp burst of the pheasant's flight heightens the sense of a sudden parting.
It is one of the Musashi poems. "Oguki" is thought to mean a mountain cave or a hollow in a valley.
The poet is unknown. The Azuma uta are thought to have been sung among the people of the eastern provinces, and they are marked by plain, open-hearted expression mixed with local dialect.

First line, "musashino no": Following the preceding poem, Musashino again; three Musashi poems in a row begin with "Musashino."
Second line, "oguki ga kigishi": "Oguki" is thought to mean a hollow, and the pheasant dwelling there; the first two lines form a preface leading to "tachi."
Third line, "tachiwakare": The pheasant's taking flight overlaps with the couple's parting.
Fourth line, "inishi yoi yori": "Inishi" means went away, and "yoi yori" means since that evening.
Final line, "sero ni awanau yo": "Sero" is an eastern endearment for husband or lover, and "nau" is an eastern negative; "yo" is exclamatory.
Source: Manyoshu
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