Tachibana wa hana ni mo mi ni mo mitsuredomo iya tokijiku ni naoshi mi ga hoshi

橘は花にも実にも見つれども
いや時じくになほし見が欲し

Roma-ji: Tachibana wa hana ni mo mi ni mo mitsuredomo iya tokijiku ni naoshi mi ga hoshi
English Translation: The tachibana—
in its flowers and its fruit
I have seen it, yet
ever, at all times of year,
still I long to look on it.
Meaning: I have seen the tachibana in flower and in fruit, yet in every season I still long to look on it.
Commentary: Book Eighteen 4112

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem on the tachibana [with a short poem]." "One envoy."
The poet says that though he has seen the tachibana both in flower and in fruit, he longs to look on it at all times. It is an envoy to a long poem praising the origins and the seasonal beauty of the tachibana, expressing an endless attachment to a tree that remains ever beautiful.
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, "Composed by Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi on the twenty-third of the intercalary fifth month." The long poem tells the legend that in the reign of Emperor Suinin, Tajimamori brought from the Everworld "the fragrant fruit of no season." Some see in it praise for the Minister of the Left, Tachibana no Moroe, who bore the tachibana name, and it echoes the group of tachibana poems in this book from 4058 to 4064.

First line, "tachibana wa": it sets up the tachibana as its theme. Like "ōkimi wa tokiwa ni masamu tachibana no" in 4064, it praises the tachibana as evergreen and unchanging.
Second line, "hana ni mo mi ni mo": naming both its flowering and fruiting seasons, it sums up the tachibana through the year as sung in the long poem.
Third line, "mitsuredomo": "tsure" is the perfective form of "tsu," "though I have seen it."
Fourth line, "iya tokijiku ni": "tokijiku" means without fixed season, always. It takes up the long poem's "tokijiku no kaku no konomi."
Last line, "naoshi mi ga hoshi": "naoshi" means "still," and "mi ga hoshi" "I long to see." It ends with a longing that never runs out.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Saburuko ga itsukishi tono ni suzu kakenu hayuma kudareri sato mo todoro ni
Next Poem: Nadeshiko ga hana miru goto ni otomera ga emai no nioi omohoyuru kamo