Nubatama no tsuki ni mukaite hototogisu naku oto harukeshi satodōmi kamo

ぬばたまの月に向ひて霍公鳥
鳴く音遥けし里遠みかも

Roma-ji: Nubatama no tsuki ni mukaite hototogisu naku oto harukeshi satodōmi kamo
English Translation: In the jet-black night,
facing toward the shining moon,
the hototogisu
sings, its voice so far away—
is the village so distant
Meaning: In the dark night, the hototogisu sings toward the moon, its voice far and faint—is it because the village is so far away?
Commentary: Book Seventeen 3988

Headnote: "A poem expressing my feelings on hearing the hototogisu call far off in the night of the sixteenth day of the fourth month"
The hototogisu's song toward the night moon sounds far away—is it because the village is distant? A poem of feeling on hearing the long-awaited bird. According to the headnote, he composed it on the night of the sixteenth day of the fourth month of 747, hearing the bird call far away. Some two weeks after 3983 and 3984, in which he complained that it had not sung though summer had begun, the voice he at last hears is distant and faint, lingering in the stillness of the moonlit night.
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 was composed by Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi."

First line, "nubatama no": a pillow word for night, black and the moon, here introducing the night moon.
Second line, "tsuki ni mukaite": "facing the moon," suggesting the nearly full moon of the sixteenth night.
Third line, "hototogisu": the long-awaited bird, the one he reproached in 3983 with "why do you not come and sing?"
Fourth line, "naku oto harukeshi": "its voice sounds far away"; the poem pauses here.
Fifth line, "satodōmi kamo": a mi-construction, "because the village is far," with kamo adding a question, guessing at the reason for the distance of the sound.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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