Hitomoto no nadeshiko ueshi sono kokoro tare ni misemu to omoi somekemu

一本のなでしこ植ゑしその心
誰れに見せむと思ひ始めけむ

Roma-ji: Hitomoto no nadeshiko ueshi sono kokoro tare ni misemu to omoi somekemu
English Translation: A single clump of
wild pinks that I planted here—
that heart of mine,
for whom did it first intend
the sight of these flowers?
Meaning: When I planted this single clump of pinks, for whom, I wonder, did my heart first mean to show them?
Commentary: Book Eighteen 4070

Headnote: "A poem on the pinks in the garden."
The poet asks for whom his heart first meant to show the single clump of pinks he planted. Composed at a farewell banquet for the monk Seiken, who was going up to the capital, and sent to him with wine, it carries the regret of parting: it was you to whom I wished to show these flowers.
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, "Seiken, the attendant monk of the former provincial priest, was to go to the capital. A banquet was therefore prepared. The host, Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi, composed this poem and sent wine to Seiken." It is thought to date from the spring of 749.

First line, "hitomoto no": "a single clump," and the fact that there is only one suggests the depth of feeling of the one who planted it.
Second line, "nadeshiko ueshi": the "gobaku" of the headnote refers to the pink. Yakamochi planted pinks in the garden of his residence in Etchū and loved them.
Third line, "sono kokoro": it singles out the heart at the time of planting, and the following lines ask where that heart was directed.
Fourth line, "tare ni misemu to": "mu" is an auxiliary of intention, "meaning to show whom." The answer, Seiken before him, is implied.
Last line, "omoi somekemu": "kemu" is the auxiliary of past conjecture; the poem ends by looking back and asking, "did I first intend it so?"
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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