Akatoki ni nanori naku naru hototogisu iya mezurashiku omohoyuru kamo

暁に名告り鳴くなる霍公鳥
いやめづらしく思ほゆるかも

Roma-ji: Akatoki ni nanori naku naru hototogisu iya mezurashiku omohoyuru kamo
English Translation: At the break of dawn,
calling out its own name,
the hototogisu—
ever more dear to me
is the thought of you.
Meaning: Like the cuckoo that cries out its own name before dawn, you seem ever more dear to me.
Commentary: Book Eighteen 4084

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Poems in reply by Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi, governor of Etchū, together with poems of his heart, three in all." "Separately, one poem of my heart."
The poet says that, like the cuckoo that cries out its own name before dawn, she seems ever dearer to him. Added after the replies to Lady Sakanoue as an expression of his own feelings, it uses the cuckoo's voice heard in early-summer Etchū to convey his thoughts for her in the capital.
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 above were sent up to the capital by messenger on the fourth."

First line, "akatoki ni": the dark hours before dawn, the time when the cuckoo is sung of as calling.
Second line, "nanori naku naru": the cuckoo's cry sounds as if it were calling out its own name. "Naru" is the attributive form of "nari" expressing inference from sound.
Third line, "hototogisu": the lines so far form a preface; the freshness of the cuckoo's voice leads to "mezurashiku."
Fourth line, "iya mezurashiku": "mezurashi" means appealing or dear, and "iya" "ever more," expressing rising feeling.
Last line, "omohoyuru kamo": "omohoyu" means "comes to mind of itself," and "kamo" is an exclamatory particle. It closes by answering her longing: he too holds her dear.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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