Uzura naku furushi to hito wa omoeredo hanatachibana no niou kono yado

鶉鳴く古しと人は思へれど
花橘のにほふこの宿

Roma-ji: Uzura naku furushi to hito wa omoeredo hanatachibana no niou kono yado
English Translation: Where the quail cry out—
so old, so worn, people think
this place to be, yet
the orange trees are in bloom
and fragrant at this my home
Meaning: People think it a run-down old place where the quail cry, but here at my home the orange trees are in blossom, filling it with their fragrance.
Commentary: Book Seventeen 3920

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Six poems composed on the fifth day of the fourth month of the sixteenth year, while living alone at my old house in Heijō"
Others think it an old and faded place, but at this house the orange blossoms bloom in beauty—a poem in praise of the old residence. This is one of six poems Yakamochi composed on the fifth day of the fourth month of 744, living alone in his old house at Heijō, which had become a former capital as the court moved from Kuni to Naniwa. He finds consolation in the tachibana still blooming at the old house in Heijō, now neglected as a former capital.
The poet, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, was the son of the Major Counselor Ōtomo no Tabito. Appointed Governor of Etchū in 746, he spent five years there, later serving as Junior Counselor and Governor of Inaba before rising to Middle Counselor. He is thought to have played a central role in compiling the Man'yōshū.
The left note reads, "The above six poems were composed by Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi on the fifth day of the fourth month of the sixteenth year of Tenpyō, living alone in his old house in his home town of Heijō."

First line, "uzura naku": "where quail cry," a pillow word for furushi ("old"), from the sense of a desolate place where quail call.
Second line, "furushi to hito wa": "people think it old," taking up "furinuredo" in the preceding poem, 3919.
Third line, "omoeredo": "though they think so," turning adversatively to praise in the lower verse.
Fourth line, "hanatachibana no": the orange tree in flower, linked with the fragrance of tachibana in 3916 and 3918.
Fifth line, "niou kono yado": "this home where they bloom so sweetly"; ending on a noun, the poem firmly asserts his attachment to the old house.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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