Kataomoi o uma ni futsuma ni ōse mote koshibe ni yaraba hito katawamu kamo

片思ひを馬にふつまに負ほせ持て
越辺に遣らば人かたはむかも

Roma-ji: Kataomoi o uma ni futsuma ni ōse mote koshibe ni yaraba hito katawamu kamo
English Translation: All my one-sided love,
loaded heavily onto
a horse's back,
if I sent it off to Koshi,
would someone lend a hand, I wonder?
Meaning: If I loaded all my unrequited love onto a horse's back and sent it off to Koshi, would someone lend a hand with it?
Commentary: Book Eighteen 4081

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Two poems sent by his aunt and mother-in-law, Lady Sakanoue of the Ōtomo clan, to Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi, governor of Etchū."
The poet wonders whether, if she loaded her one-sided love heavily onto a horse and sent it to Koshi, someone would lend a hand. With the novel idea of packing an invisible feeling onto a horse as freight, she humorously expresses how great her longing is.
Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue was the daughter of Ōtomo no Yasumaro and a half-sister of Tabito. She was Yakamochi's aunt and, since her daughter Sakanoue no Ōiratsume became his wife, also his mother-in-law. She left many poems as a woman poet of the Man'yōshū.
"Katawamu" in the last line is a difficult word; besides the interpretation "lend a hand" or "help," there are various views. Yakamochi's 4083 answers by taking up this love loaded on a horse.

First line, "kataomoi o": one-sided love not returned by the other. It is a hypermetric line of six syllables.
Second line, "uma ni futsuma ni": "futsuma ni" is thought to mean "in a great load" or "entirely," treating her feelings as freight.
Third line, "ōse mote": "ōsu" means to load onto the back, having a horse carry the burden.
Fourth line, "koshibe ni yaraba": "if I sent it toward Koshi," a hypothetical condition with the irrealis plus "ba."
Last line, "hito katawamu kamo": "katau" is thought to mean to lend a hand or help, and "kamo" is an exclamation with a question. It ends humorously, wondering whether someone will help with the heavy load.
Author: Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Source: Manyoshu
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