Shiratama no migahoshi kimi o mizu hisa ni hina ni shi oreba ikeru to mo nashi

白玉の見が欲し君を見ず久に
鄙にし居れば生けるともなし

Roma-ji: Shiratama no migahoshi kimi o mizu hisa ni hina ni shi oreba ikeru to mo nashi
English Translation: Like a white pearl,
you whom I long to look on,
long without seeing,
living here in the provinces,
I hardly feel alive
Meaning: You whom I long to look upon like a white pearl—I have gone so long without seeing you, living here in the far provinces, that I hardly feel alive.
Commentary: Book Nineteen 4170

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem composed at the request of my wife, to be sent to her honored mother in the capital, with a short poem"; envoy, one poem
Yakamochi composed this envoy to a long poem on behalf of his wife, Lady Sakanoue the Elder, to be sent to her mother, Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue, in the capital. In the voice of a daughter longing for her mother, it says that having long gone without seeing the mother she wishes always to look upon, like a white pearl, and living in a far province, she hardly feels alive.
The long poem speaks of the loneliness of not hearing her mother's words morning and evening and of the wish that her mother flourish like pine and oak until they meet face to face; the envoy distills that longing. The sorrow of separation between Ōiratsume, who had gone down to Etchū, and her mother, who stayed in the capital, is expressed by Yakamochi's brush.
The poet, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, son of Ōtomo no Tabito, was serving as Governor of Etchū. His wife, Lady Sakanoue the Elder, was the daughter of his aunt Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue, and at this time had come down to Etchū to live with him.

First line, "shiratama no" (like a white pearl), means something beautiful and precious, serving as a figure that leads into "migahoshi" (wishing to see).
Second line, "migahoshi kimi o" (you whom I long to see): "migahoshi" means wishing always to see, and "kimi" refers to the mother, Lady Sakanoue.
Third line, "mizu hisa ni" (long without seeing), shows how long the separation has lasted.
Fourth line, "hina ni shi oreba" (living in the provinces): "hina" refers to regions far from the capital, and "shi" is emphatic, stressing her circumstance of living in Etchū.
Fifth line, "ikeru to mo nashi" (I hardly feel alive): "ikeru to" is taken to mean the feeling of being alive, and the poem closes with a plea of deep loneliness that even this is lacking.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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