Tako no saki ko no kureshige ni hototogisu ki naki toyomeba hada koime ya mo

多古の崎木の暗茂に霍公鳥
来鳴き響めばはだ恋ひめやも

Roma-ji: Tako no saki ko no kureshige ni hototogisu ki naki toyomeba hada koime ya mo
English Translation: At Tako's cape,
in the dark of the thick trees,
if the cuckoo came
and sang till the woods rang out,
would I yearn for it so much?
Meaning: If only the cuckoo would come and make its song ring out in the thick dark shade of the trees at Tako Cape, would I yearn for it so deeply?
Commentary: Book Eighteen 4051

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Poems in which each expressed his feelings while sightseeing on reaching the lagoon."
The poet says that if the cuckoo would only come and sing in the thick shade of the trees at Tako Cape, he would not long for it so deeply. Answering Hironawa's lament in the preceding poem, he shares the same feeling as host and closes the group of poems from the day of the outing.
Ōtomo no Yakamochi was the son of Ōtomo no Tabito, and from 746 he served as governor of Etchū. He is believed to have played a central role in compiling the Man'yōshū, and this book has the character of a poetic diary of his years in Etchū.
The left note reads, "The poem above is by Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi," followed by, "The fifteen preceding poems were composed on the twenty-fifth."

First line, "Tako no saki": a cape facing the lagoon of Fuse, in present-day Himi, known for its wisteria.
Second line, "ko no kureshige ni": "ko no kure" means a place darkened by thick trees, the deep shade of summer.
Third line, "hototogisu": taking up the "mountain cuckoo" of the preceding poem.
Fourth line, "ki naki toyomeba": "toyomu" means to make one's voice ring out. The perfective form plus "ba" sets up the supposition "if it came and sang."
Last line, "hada koime ya mo": "hada" means "greatly." "Me ya mo" is rhetorical: "would I yearn so? No." Turned around, it shows that his longing grows because the cuckoo does not sing.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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