Kamitsuke no sano no kukutachi orihayashi are wa matamue ko toshi kozu tomo

上つ毛野佐野の茎立ち折りはやし
我れは待たむゑ来とし来ずとも

Roma-ji: Kamitsuke no sano no kukutachi orihayashi are wa matamue ko toshi kozu tomo
English Translation: In Kamitsuke,
the young greens of Sano's fields
I will pick and cook,
and I will wait for you, my love—
even if you should not come.
Meaning: I will pick and prepare the young greens of Sano in Kamitsuke, and I will wait for you—even if you do not come.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3406

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
Picking and cooking the young greens of Sano, a woman resolves to wait for her lover's visit, even if he does not come. The steadfast heart that waits for one who may never arrive is shown through the everyday act of preparing a meal.
It is one of the Kōzuke poems. Sano is a place in Kōzuke thought to be near present-day Sano in Takasaki, Gunma. Some read "ko toshi" in the last line as "kotoshi," this year.
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, "kamitsuke no": The old name of Kōzuke, with which many Kōzuke poems begin.
Second line, "sano no kukutachi": "Kukutachi" are the flowering stalks of greens, young spring shoots. Sano is also named in 3418 and 3420 of this book.
Third line, "orihayashi": "Hayashi" is thought to mean to prepare as food.
Fourth line, "are wa matamue": "E" is an exclamatory particle; the poem pauses here.
Final line, "ko toshi kozu tomo": "Ko toshi" is read either as "about to come" or as "this year." "Zu tomo" is a concessive supposition.
Source: Manyoshu
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