Satobito no miru me hazukashi saburuko ni sadowasu kimi ga miyade shiriburi

里人の見る目恥づかし左夫流子に
さどはす君が宮出後姿

Roma-ji: Satobito no miru me hazukashi saburuko ni sadowasu kimi ga miyade shiriburi
English Translation: Before village eyes
I feel ashamed of the sight—
lost in Saburuko,
you, my lord, as you head to work,
your back as you go to court.
Meaning: I am ashamed before the eyes of the villagers—the sight of your back as you set off for the office, my lord, bewitched by Saburuko.
Commentary: Book Eighteen 4108

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem admonishing the clerk Owari no Okui [with short poems]." "Three envoys."
The poet says that the sight of Okui, infatuated with Saburuko, going off to his office is shameful even in the eyes of the villagers. Invoking the eyes of the world, he shows how Okui's behavior appears to those around him and urges him to reflect.
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 text of the long poem includes a note, "Saburu is the name of an entertainer," showing that Saburuko was the name by which this woman was known.

First line, "satobito no": the people of the village, the public watching Okui's conduct.
Second line, "miru me hazukashi": "ashamed before their eyes." The poem pauses after the second line, and the lower half, in inverted order, shows what is shameful.
Third line, "Saburuko ni": the name of the entertainer to whom Okui has lost his heart.
Fourth line, "sadowasu kimi ga": "sadou" means to be led astray, and "su" is an honorific auxiliary, used here with irony.
Last line, "miyade shiriburi": "miyade" means going to the office and "shiriburi" one's back as one goes. Ending on a noun, it thrusts the shameful sight before him.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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