Inochi araba au koto mo aramu waga yue ni hada na omoi so inochi dani heba

命あらば逢ふこともあらむ我がゆゑに
はだな思ひそ命だに経ば

Roma-ji: Inochi araba au koto mo aramu waga yue ni hada na omoi so inochi dani heba
English Translation: If we stay alive
the day will come to meet;
because of me
do not grieve so much,
if only life goes on
Meaning: If we live, there will come a day to meet; do not grieve so much for my sake, as long as life goes on.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Exchange Poems of Nakatomi no Yakamori and Sano no Otogami no Otome 3745

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Poems exchanged between Nakatomi no Ason Yakamori and Sano no Otogami no Otome"
The young woman consoles Yakamori: if they live there will be a day to meet, so he should not grieve so much for her sake. Answering Yakamori's "inochi o shi mataku shi araba" in 3741 and the fierce feeling in 3744 that he does not grudge his life, she urges him to cherish his life and await their reunion. Placing "inochi" (life) in both the first and last lines, she stresses that reunion depends on staying alive.
The author, Sano no Otogami no Otome, was a lady-in-waiting of low rank known as a nyoju, serving in the palace storehouse office; she is also written Sano no Chigami no Otome.
A left note reads "the above nine poems are by the young woman"; the nine poems from 3745 to 3753 of this book were sent by the young woman in answer to Yakamori's poems. 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 araba": if there is life, a hypothetical condition.
Second line, "au koto mo aramu": "mu" is conjecture: there will be meeting too. The poem breaks after the second line.
Third line, "waga yue ni": for my sake.
Fourth line, "hada na omoi so": "hada" means exceedingly, and "na ... so" is prohibition: do not grieve so. The poem breaks again after the fourth line.
Fifth line, "inochi dani heba": "dani" means if only, and "fu" to live on: if only life goes on, repeating "inochi" from the first line.
Author: Sano no Otogami no Otome
Source: Manyoshu
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