Waga kado yu naki sugiwataru hototogisu iya natsukashiku kikedo akitarazu

我が門ゆ鳴き過ぎ渡る霍公鳥
いやなつかしく聞けど飽き足らず

Roma-ji: Waga kado yu naki sugiwataru hototogisu iya natsukashiku kikedo akitarazu
English Translation: Past my gate it goes,
crying as it passes by,
the little cuckoo—
ever more dear to my heart,
I hear it, yet am not filled
Meaning: The cuckoo that passes over my gate as it sings grows ever dearer to me, and though I listen, I can never hear enough.
Commentary: Book Nineteen 4176

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Two poems on the cuckoo"
The poet says that the voice of the cuckoo passing over his gate as it sings draws his heart ever more, and he can never hear enough of it. Regret at the passing voice deepens his sense that he cannot tire of it.
The text carries an original note, "the six words mo, no, ha, te, ni, and wo are omitted": the poem avoids the particles "mo," "no," "wa," "te," "ni," and "o." It increases the constraint from the three of the preceding poem, making the two a pair of word games.
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, "waga kado yu" (by way of my gate): "yu" is a case particle marking passage, meaning past the area of the poet's gate.
Second line, "naki sugiwataru" (passing as it sings), describes the voice moving away as the bird goes by.
Third line, "hototogisu" (the cuckoo), places in the center the same bird named in the first line of the preceding poem.
Fourth line, "iya natsukashiku" (ever more dear): "iya" means more and more, and "natsukashi" means drawing the heart, expressing attachment to the passing voice.
Fifth line, "kikedo akitarazu" (though I listen, it is not enough), following the preceding poem's "could there be a day it stays away?", closes on the poet's endless devotion to the cuckoo.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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