Inochi o shi mataku shi araba arikinu no arite nochi ni mo awazarame ya mo

命をし全くしあらばあり衣の
ありて後にも逢はざらめやも

Roma-ji: Inochi o shi mataku shi araba arikinu no arite nochi ni mo awazarame ya mo
English Translation: If only my life
remains whole and safe,
like silken robes
living on, even later,
shall we not meet again
Meaning: If only my life remains safe, living on as silken robes endure, shall we not meet again, even if it be later on?
Commentary: Book Fifteen Exchange Poems of Nakatomi no Yakamori and Sano no Otogami no Otome 3741

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Poems exchanged between Nakatomi no Ason Yakamori and Sano no Otogami no Otome"
He voices hope: if only his life remains safe, living on, they will surely meet later. Following the faith in the gods of the preceding poem, he encourages himself that as long as he lives they can be reunited. The fourth line of the text carries a note, "one version: arite no nochi mo," recording a variant fourth line. The note has been removed from the poem's text, and the text's own reading is followed here.
The author, Nakatomi no Yakamori, was a son of Nakatomi no Azumahito, from the Nakatomi clan in charge of the rites of the gods. He was exiled to Echizen Province for an offense, but was later pardoned and returned to the capital.
A left note reads "the above fourteen poems are by Nakatomi no Ason Yakamori"; the fourteen poems from 3731 to 3744 of this book were sent by Yakamori to the young woman from his place of exile. The latter half of this book contains sixty-three poems exchanged between Nakatomi no Yakamori and Sano no Otogami no Otome. According to the book's table of contents, when Yakamori took as his wife the young woman, a lady-in-waiting of the palace storehouse office, he was exiled to Echizen Province by imperial decree. The place of exile is thought to be Ajimano in Echizen, near present-day Echizen City, Fukui Prefecture.

First line, "inochi o shi": "shi" is an emphatic particle: if only my life.
Second line, "mataku shi araba": "matashi" means safe and whole: if it remains safe.
Third line, "arikinu no": "arikinu" is a fine silk robe; by repetition of sound it is a pillow word leading into "ari" in the fourth line.
Fourth line, "arite nochi ni mo": living on, even afterward. The variant reads "arite no nochi mo."
Fifth line, "awazarame ya mo": "zara" is negative, "me" conjecture, and "ya mo" rhetorical: shall we not meet? Surely we shall, ending firmly.
Author: Nakatomi no Yakamori
Source: Manyoshu
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