Yo no naka no tsune no kotowari kaku sama ni narikinikerashi sueshi tane kara

世の中の常のことわりかくさまに
なり来にけらしすゑし種から

Roma-ji: Yo no naka no tsune no kotowari kaku sama ni narikinikerashi sueshi tane kara
English Translation: As the constant law
of this world we live in,
it has come to this,
so it seems, all from
the seeds that I have sown
Meaning: As is the unchanging law of this world, it seems things have come to this, all from the seeds I myself have sown.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Exchange Poems of Nakatomi no Yakamori and Sano no Otogami no Otome 3761

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Poems exchanged between Nakatomi no Ason Yakamori and Sano no Otogami no Otome"
He sings that, as is the unchanging law of the world, it seems things have come to this from the seeds he himself sowed. It expresses a heart that does not blame others for his exile but tries to accept it as the result of his own actions. Within a sequence that has piled up resentment toward the court and lament, it is a quiet poem of self-reflection.
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 thirteen poems are by Nakatomi no Ason Yakamori"; the thirteen poems from 3754 to 3766 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, "yo no naka no": of this world.
Second line, "tsune no kotowari": "kotowari" is reason or law: the unchanging law of the world.
Third line, "kaku sama ni": into such a state, referring to his exile.
Fourth line, "narikinikerashi": "kerashi" is an auxiliary inferring a past matter on some ground: it seems to have come to this. The poem breaks after the fourth line.
Fifth line, "sueshi tane kara": "suu" means to set or plant: from the seeds I planted. Inverted with the fourth line, it gives the cause at the end.
Author: Nakatomi no Yakamori
Source: Manyoshu
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