Ie ni arishi hitsu ni kagi sashi osameteshi koi no yatsuko no tsukami kakarite

家にありし櫃にかぎさし蔵めてし
恋の奴のつかみかかりて

Roma-ji: Ie ni arishi hitsu ni kagi sashi osameteshi koi no yatsuko no tsukami kakarite
English Translation: In the chest at home
I set a lock upon it,
stored it all away—
yet that knave of a love
has sprung out and seized me!
Meaning: I locked it up in the chest at home and put it away, yet that rascal Love has sprung out and grabbed hold of me!
Commentary: Book Sixteen Poems with Tales of Origin and Miscellaneous Poems 3816

Headnote: "A poem by Prince Hozumi; one poem."
Love, which the speaker had locked away in a chest at home, leaps out like a servant and seizes him. Personifying love and cursing it, the poem expresses irrepressible longing in a playful tone.
According to the left note, when the wine flowed at banquets Prince Hozumi loved to recite this poem as his usual pleasure. Whether he composed it himself or simply favored it is unclear.
Prince Hozumi was a son of Emperor Tenmu who served as Chief of the Council of State and reached the First Rank. His love for his half-sister Princess Tajima is well known.

First line, "ie ni arishi," means "that was at home."
Second line, "hitsu ni kagi sashi," means "locking it in a chest," a bold image of stowing love away like an object.
Third line, "osameteshi," means "I had put away." The perfective tsu and past ki stress his belief that he had sealed it in.
Fourth line, "koi no yatsuko no," means "that knave Love." Yatsuko means a servant, and here love is personified and cursed.
Final line, "tsukami kakarite," means "seizing me." Ending on the connective te, the poem breaks off without saying what followed, inviting laughter.
Author: Prince Hozumi
Source: Manyoshu
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