Ōkimi no mikoto kashikomi Ō no ura o sogai ni mitsutsu miyako e noboru

大君の命畏み於保の浦を
そがひに見つつ都へ上る

Roma-ji: Ōkimi no mikoto kashikomi Ō no ura o sogai ni mitsutsu miyako e noboru
English Translation: Our great lord's command
I receive with awe and dread,
and the bay of Ō
I look back on at my back
as I journey to the capital
Meaning: In awe of my lord's command, I go up to the capital, looking back at the bay of Ō behind me.
Commentary: Book Twenty Miscellaneous Poems 4472

Headnote: "On the eighth day, the Governor of Sanuki, Prince Asukabe, and others gathered at the house of Asukabe no Nadomaro, secretary of Izumo, for a banquet; two poems."
In awe of my lord's command, I go up to the capital, looking back at the bay of Ō behind me: the poem sings of leaving his province for the capital. According to the headnote, it comes from a banquet on the eighth of the eleventh month at the house of Asukabe no Nadomaro, secretary of Izumo, attended by Prince Asukabe, Governor of Sanuki, and others. The left note of the next poem says Nadomaro had been appointed delegate to the court and was going up to the capital, and each guest composed a poem on the day of his send-off. The bay of Ō is thought to be in Ou District, Izumo, and the poem looks back on the sea of his province.
The author, Asukabe no Nadomaro, a member of the Asukabe lineage, was at this time secretary of Izumo Province.

The first line, "ōkimi no," names the source of the command, a phrase also repeated in the guards' poems.
The second line, "mikoto kashikomi," means "in awe of the command."
The third line, "Ō no ura o," names a bay thought to be in Ou District, Izumo, the scenery of his province.
The fourth line, "sogai ni mitsutsu," "looking back at it behind me," expresses his gaze back at the receding province.
The closing line, "miyako e noboru," "I go up to the capital," ends by naming his journey as delegate.
Author: Asukabe no Nadomaro
Source: Manyoshu
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