[One of] two poems sent by Lady Ōtomo of Sakanoue to her daughter, the Elder Maiden, from her estate at Taketa.
うち渡す武田の原に鳴く鶴の閒なく時なし我が戀ふらくは
| utiwatasu taketa nö para ni naku tadu nö ma naku töki nasi a ga kopuraku pa |
Gazing out across The field at Taketa, The calling of the cranes Is constant As is my love. |
Two poems by Lady Ōtomo of Sakanoue.
ひさかたの天の露霜置きにけり家なる人も待ち戀ひぬらむ
| pisakata nö amë nö tuyu simo okinikeri ipe naru pitö mo mati kopinuramu |
Eternal Heaven’s dew and frost Has fallen. One at home, too, Waits, fondly feeling. |
山の端のささら愛壯士天の原門渡る光見らくしよしも
| yama nö pa nö sasarae wotoko ama nö para towataru pikari miraku si yösi mo |
At the mountain’s edge A darling boy: The field of heaven He wades across, his light A pleasant sight. |
Concerning the above poem, it is said that another name for the moon is ‘darling boy’; she composed the poem based on these words.
ぬばたまの夜霧の立ちておほほしく照れる月夜の見れば悲しさ
| nubatama nö yogïri nö tatite opoposiku tereru tukï yo nö mireba kanasisa |
Lily seed dark The night mist rises Blurring The moonlit night; How sad the sight. |
Envoy:
木綿疊手に取り持ちてかくだにも我れは祈ひなむ君に逢はじかも
| yupu tatami te ni törimotite kaku dani mo are pa kopinamu kimi ni apadi ka mo |
The mulberry cloth mat I grip And in this way I pray; But still I may not meet him. |
The above poems, on which she expended little effort, were composed in winter, the Eleventh Month of the 5th year of Tempyō (733), while worshipping the ancestral gods of the Ōtomo clan. For this reason, they are called poems in which she worships the gods.
A poem, with tanka, with which Lady Ōtomo of Sakanoue worships the gods.
ひさかたの 天の原より 生れ來る 神の命 奧山の 賢木の枝に しらか付く 木綿取り付けて 齋瓮を 齋ひ掘り据ゑ 竹玉を 繁に貫き垂れ 獸じもの 膝折り伏して たわや女の 襲取り懸け かくだにも 我れは祈ひなむ 君に逢はじかも
| pisakata nö ama nö para yori arekitaru kamï nö mikötö okuyama nö sakakï nö eda ni siraka tuku yupu toritukete ipapipe wo ipapiporisuwe takatama wo sidi ni nukitare sisidi monö piza woripusite tawayame nö osupi torikake kaku dani mo are pa kopinamu kimi ni apadi ka mo |
On eternal Heaven’s field Were born The mighty gods: From deep within the mountains Comes the branch of sakaki, sacred tree, Pure white Mulberry cloth I tie upon it; Sacred jars, I bury in the earth; Bamboo discs I string close together, and As a beast On bended knee, prostrate myself; A gentle maiden’s Stole upon me, And in this way Do I pray; But still I may not meet him. |
Lady Ōtomo of Sakanoue
大伴坂上郎女
Envoy:
常世邊に住むべきものを劍大刀汝が心からおそやこの君
| tokoyope ni sumubëki monö wo turugi tati na ga kökörö kara osö ya könö kimi |
In the Eternal World You should have lived, but A sharp sword was Your heart: A lackwit, weren’t you! |