Sugi no no ni saodoru kigishi ichishiroku ne ni shimo nakamu komorizuma kamo

杉の野にさ躍る雉いちしろく
音にしも泣かむ隠り妻かも

Roma-ji: Sugi no no ni saodoru kigishi ichishiroku ne ni shimo nakamu komorizuma kamo
English Translation: In the cedar field
the pheasant leaps up and cries—
so conspicuously
does it weep aloud, I wonder,
like a wife kept in hiding?
Meaning: The pheasant leaping in the cedar field cries out so plainly—is it a hidden wife who can no longer keep from weeping aloud?
Commentary: Book Nineteen 4148

Headnote: "Two poems on hearing a pheasant cry at dawn"
Hearing a pheasant in a cedar field at dawn, leaping up as it gives its shrill cry, the poet likens it to a hidden wife who can no longer hold back her feelings and cries aloud. Pheasants were thought to call out of longing for their mates, and their cry is overlaid with the mood of love.
The contrast at the heart of the poem is that feelings meant to stay hidden burst out plainly in sound, showing skill in turning the behavior of a bird into a metaphor for love.
The poet, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, was the son of the Grand Counselor Ōtomo no Tabito. From 746 he served as Governor of Etchū, living at the provincial headquarters in what is now Fushiki, Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture. He is regarded as the leading poet of the Nara period and is thought to have played a central role in compiling the Man'yōshū.

First line, "sugi no no ni" (in the cedar field), sets a dawn scene in a mountain village where cedars grow.
Second line, "saodoru kigishi" (the pheasant leaping): "sa" is a prefix and "odoru" means to spring up, capturing the pheasant beating its wings and leaping as it cries.
Third line, "ichishiroku" (conspicuously), describes something plainly visible, preparing the contrast of what should be hidden being revealed.
Fourth line, "ne ni shimo nakamu" (crying aloud): "ne" is the sound of weeping, and "shi" and "mo" are emphatic, stressing a cry raised aloud.
Fifth line, "komorizuma kamo" (is it a hidden wife?): "komorizuma" is a wife who must hide from others' eyes, and "kamo" expresses wonder and doubt. The poem closes by seeing the pheasant as such a wife.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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