Hototogisu mazu naku asake ika ni seba waga kado sugiji kataritsugu made

霍公鳥まづ鳴く朝明いかにせば
我が門過ぎじ語り継ぐまで

Roma-ji: Hototogisu mazu naku asake ika ni seba waga kado sugiji kataritsugu made
English Translation: The hototogisu
sings its first song at the dawn:
what could I do so
it would not pass by my gate,
till men tell of it for years?
Meaning: At dawn when the hototogisu first sings, what can I do to keep it from passing by my gate, so that its song might be told of for ages?
Commentary: Book Twenty Miscellaneous Poems 4463

Headnote: none. The left note reads: "The above two poems were composed by Ōtomo no Yakamochi on the twentieth day, moved by the mood."
At dawn when the hototogisu first sings, how can I keep it from passing my gate, that its song be told of for ages? The poem longs for the bird's first song. The left note says it is the first of two poems Yakamochi composed on the twentieth day of the third month, moved by the mood. Before the hototogisu has come, he yearns to hear its first song at his own house, showing his characteristic refinement.
The author, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, son of Ōtomo no Tabito, was at this time Junior Assistant Minister of Military Affairs.

The first line, "hototogisu," names the bird heralding summer; the next poem opens with the same line.
The second line, "mazu naku asake," "the dawn when it first sings," marks the time of its first song.
The third line, "ika ni seba," means "what should I do?"
The fourth line, "waga kado sugiji," uses ji, negative conjecture: so it will not pass my gate. The poem pauses here.
The closing line, "kataritsugu made," "so that men tell of it," adds by inversion the depth of his wish.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Funagiou Horie no kawa no minagiwa ni kiitsutsu naku wa miyakodori kamo
Next Poem: Hototogisu kaketsutsu kimi ga matsukage ni himo tokisakuru tsuki chikazukinu