Takamato no obana fukikosu akikaze ni himo tokiake na tada narazu tomo

高円の尾花吹き越す秋風に
紐解き開けな直ならずとも

Roma-ji: Takamato no obana fukikosu akikaze ni himo tokiake na tada narazu tomo
English Translation: Over Takamato's
plumes of pampas grass it blows,
the wind of autumn;
let us loosen our sashes,
though it is not face to face
Meaning: To the autumn wind blowing over the pampas plumes of Takamato, let us untie our sashes, even if it is not our beloved we meet in person.
Commentary: Book Twenty Miscellaneous Poems 4295

Headnote: "On the twelfth day of the eighth month of Tenpyō Shōhō 5, two or three officials each carried a jar of wine, climbed onto the plain of Takamato, and composed poems expressing a little of their feelings; three poems."
The poem says: to the autumn wind blowing over the pampas plumes of Takamato, let us loosen our sashes, even if we are not meeting a lover in person. According to the headnote, it is the first of three poems from an outing on which a few officials climbed the plain of Takamato with jars of wine and shared their thoughts. Untying the sash is properly a lover's gesture at a meeting, and offering it to the autumn wind is a jest full of the freedom of an excursion into the fields.
The author, Ōtomo no Ikenushi, was a member of the Ōtomo clan who, as secretary of Etchū Province, exchanged many poems with its governor, Ōtomo no Yakamochi. At this time he was a junior assistant of the Left Capital Office.

The first line, "Takamato no," names the plains around Mount Takamato, east of the Nara capital and stretching south of Mount Kasuga. All three poems of the set name Takamato.
The second line, "obana fukikosu," pictures the wind passing over the plumes of pampas grass, a scene of the autumn fields.
The third line, "akikaze ni," marks the wind as what one turns toward.
The fourth line, "himo tokiake na," uses the final particle na to express one's own intention: "let us untie our sashes." The poem pauses here.
The closing line, "tada narazu tomo," means "even if it is not face to face with a lover." Through inversion it adds the background of the action in the fourth line afterward.
Author: Ōtomo no Ikenushi
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Ashihiki no yama ni yukikemu yamabito no kokoro mo shirazu yamabito ya tare
Next Poem: Amakumo ni kari zo nakunaru Takamato no hagi no shitaba wa momichi aemu kamo