Kamitsuke no sanoda no nae no muranae ni koto wa sadametsu ima wa ika ni semo

上つ毛野佐野田の苗のむら苗に
事は定めつ今はいかにせも

Roma-ji: Kamitsuke no sanoda no nae no muranae ni koto wa sadametsu ima wa ika ni semo
English Translation: In Kamitsuke,
seedlings in the Sano fields,
by their clustered sprouts
the matter has been settled now—
what am I to do at last?
Meaning: By the clustered seedlings in the Sano fields of Kamitsuke, the matter has been settled—now what am I to do?
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3418

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
Having divined by the clusters of rice seedlings in the Sano fields and settled the matter, the singer wonders what can be done now. It may be read as deciding on a marriage by a divination with seedlings, and doubt peeks through after the decision.
It is one of the Kōzuke poems and, after 3406, names Sano again. Some read "muranae" as divination by seedlings.
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, opening as a Kōzuke poem.
Second line, "sanoda no nae no": The rice seedlings of Sano's fields; after "the young greens of Sano" in 3406, Sano is named again.
Third line, "muranae ni": "Muranae" is thought to mean seedlings growing in clusters, perhaps tied to divination by seedlings.
Fourth line, "koto wa sadametsu": "The matter is decided," with "tsu" marking completion; the poem pauses here.
Final line, "ima wa ika ni semo": "Semo" is an eastern form of "semu": what am I to do now? The poem ends in perplexity.
Source: Manyoshu
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