Unohana no tomo ni shi nakeba hototogisu iya mezurashi mo nanori naku nae

卯の花のともにし鳴けば霍公鳥
いやめづらしも名告り鳴くなへ

Roma-ji: Unohana no tomo ni shi nakeba hototogisu iya mezurashi mo nanori naku nae
English Translation: Together with the
deutzia blossoms it sings,
the hototogisu—
ever more it charms my heart,
calling out its own name.
Meaning: Because it sings together with the deutzia blossoms, the cuckoo charms me all the more as it calls out its own name.
Commentary: Book Eighteen 4091

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem composed on hearing a cuckoo call far off while sitting alone inside the curtained tent [with short poems]." "Envoy."
The poet says that because the cuckoo sings together with the deutzia blossoms, it charms him all the more as it calls out its own name. Through the early-summer pairing of deutzia and cuckoo, he praises the appeal of the bird's song.
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.

First line, "unohana no": "unohana" is the deutzia blossom, often paired with the cuckoo.
Second line, "tomo ni shi nakeba": "shi" is emphatic, "because it sings together with the deutzia"; the perfective form plus "ba" gives the reason.
Third line, "hototogisu": like the preceding poem, it places the cuckoo in the third line, aligning the three envoys.
Fourth line, "iya mezurashi mo": "mezurashi" means appealing or dear, and "mo" is exclamatory. The poem pauses after the fourth line.
Last line, "nanori naku nae": "nae" means "as" or "along with." The cuckoo's cry sounds as if it were calling out its own name. It shares words with 4084, sent to Lady Sakanoue, "nanori naku naru hototogisu iya mezurashiku," repeating the same conceit.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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