Kanashi imo o yuzuka nabemaki mokoro o no koto toshi iwaba iya katamashi ni

愛し妹を弓束並べ巻きもころ男の
こととし言はばいや勝たましに

Roma-ji: Kanashi imo o yuzuka nabemaki mokoro o no koto toshi iwaba iya katamashi ni
English Translation: For my darling girl,
side by side we'd grip our bows—
if it came to that,
a match with my rival man,
I would surely win, and far.
Meaning: If winning my darling came down to a match with my rival, gripping our bows side by side, I would win by far.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3486

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
If the contest for his beloved were a match of archery against a rival his own age, the singer says, he would surely win by far. His defiance toward the rival and his frustration that love does not go his way show through.
It is one of the love exchanges. Competing in archery for a wife is thought to echo ancient legends of men vying for a bride.
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, "kanashi imo o": "My dear girl," "kanashi" in its eastern form.
Second line, "yuzuka nabemaki": "Yuzuka" is the grip of a bow, wrapped with leather and set side by side; the line is hypermetric.
Third line, "mokoro o no": "Mokoro o" is a man of the same age, a rival.
Fourth line, "koto toshi iwaba": "If it were said to be a matter of that," a supposition.
Final line, "iya katamashi ni": "Mashi" is counterfactual: I would win by far.
Source: Manyoshu
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