Ajimano ni yadoreru kimi ga kaerikomu toki no mukae o itsu to ka matamu

味真野に宿れる君が帰り来む
時の迎へをいつとか待たむ

Roma-ji: Ajimano ni yadoreru kimi ga kaerikomu toki no mukae o itsu to ka matamu
English Translation: At Ajimano
you are dwelling now, my lord;
when you come back home,
for the day I go to meet you
when am I to wait
Meaning: You are lodging now at Ajimano; for the day I go out to welcome you home, when am I to wait?
Commentary: Book Fifteen Exchange Poems of Nakatomi no Yakamori and Sano no Otogami no Otome 3770

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Poems exchanged between Nakatomi no Ason Yakamori and Sano no Otogami no Otome"
She asks when she should wait for the day to go out and welcome Yakamori home from Ajimano where he lodges. Ajimano is a place name in Echizen Province, specifying the place of Yakamori's exile. While preparing to welcome him home, she voices her anxiety at not knowing when that day will come. The last line, "itsu to ka matamu," is the same as the last line of 3705 of this book, in which Tamatsuki, the young woman of Tsushima, saw off the embassy's ships in the first half.
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 eight poems are by the young woman"; the eight poems from 3767 to 3774 of this book were sent by the young woman to Yakamori. 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, "Ajimano ni": a place in Echizen Province, thought to be near present-day Echizen City, Fukui Prefecture, Yakamori's place of exile.
Second line, "yadoreru kimi ga": "ru" is the attributive of the continuative "ri": you who are lodging.
Third line, "kaerikomu": "mu" is the attributive of conjecture: who will come back.
Fourth line, "toki no mukae o": the welcoming at that time, going out to meet one who returns.
Fifth line, "itsu to ka matamu": "ka" is an interrogative binding particle resolved by the attributive "mu": when am I to wait, the poem ends. The same last line as in 3705 of this book.
Author: Sano no Otogami no Otome
Source: Manyoshu
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