Tamahoko no michi ni idetachi wakarenaba minu hi samanemi koishikemu kamo

玉桙の道に出で立ち別れなば
見ぬ日さまねみ恋しけむかも

Roma-ji: Tamahoko no michi ni idetachi wakarenaba minu hi samanemi koishikemu kamo
English Translation: Jeweled spear-shaft road—
once I set out upon it
and we say farewell,
day upon day without sight of you,
how I shall long for you
Meaning: Once I set out upon the road and we part, the days without seeing you will pile up, and how I shall long for you.
Commentary: Book Seventeen 3995

Headnote: "Poems, together with an old poem, four in all, from a farewell banquet for Governor Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi, envoy with the tax register, at the residence of Secretary Ōtomo no Sukune Ikenushi on the twenty-sixth day of the fourth month"
Once he sets out on the road and they part, the days without meeting will pile up and he will long for them—a poem regretting parting at a farewell banquet. This is one of the poems from a farewell banquet held on the twenty-sixth day of the fourth month of 747 at the residence of the Secretary Ikenushi for Yakamochi, who was going up to the capital as envoy bearing the tax register. From the side of the departing Yakamochi, it expresses his reluctance to leave those staying behind.
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 poem was composed by Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi." A variant for the fourth line onward is also noted: "minu hi hisashimi koishikemu kamo," "because the days without seeing you will be long, how I shall long for you," stressing the length rather than the number of days.

First line, "tamahoko no": a pillow word for road.
Second line, "michi ni idetachi": "setting out on the road."
Third line, "wakarenaba": "if we part," a hypothetical like "tachiwakarenaba" in 3989, typical of farewell banquets.
Fourth line, "minu hi samanemi": samaneshi means numerous, and mi gives a reason—"because the days without seeing you are many." The variant reads "minu hi hisashimi."
Fifth line, "koishikemu kamo": "how I shall long for you." It answers in the same form the last line of the next poem, 3996, "sabushikemu kamo," so the feelings of those seeing off and the one seen off face each other.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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