Akegataki futami no ura ni yoru nami no sode nomi nurete okitsu shimabito - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

あけがたき二見の浦による波の
袖のみ濡れておきつ島人

Roma-ji: Akegataki futami no ura ni yoru nami no sode nomi nurete okitsu shimabito
English Translation: The night hard to break,
the door hard to open—like waves
on Futami Bay
only my sleeves are drenched,
wakeful as an island man
Meaning: The door will not open, and the night will not break; like the waves that draw near on Futami Bay, I come close, yet only my sleeves are soaked, and I stay awake like one who lives on an island far out at sea.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Love Poems III 1167

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
This is the first poem of a sequence on parting at dawn. The door is not opened and the night is slow to break; though he draws near like the waves on Futami Bay, only his sleeves are soaked, and he stays awake like an islander far out at sea. The headnote gives no topic, and the circumstances of composition are not recorded.
The author, "Sanekata Ason," is Fujiwara no Sanekata. A grandson of the Minister of the Left Fujiwara no Morotada and a son of the Chamberlain Fujiwara no Sadatoki, he went from Middle Captain of the Left Palace Guards to Governor of Mutsu and died in that province. He is one of the Later Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.
Futami Bay is a famous poetic place in Ise Province. Because the name "Futami" suggests the lid (futa) and body (mi) of a box, it is sung together with "aku," "to open" and "to dawn."

In the first line, "akegataki," "ake" is a pivot word meaning both "the night breaks" and "the door opens." It is a long night slow to break, and also a door the woman will not open.
The second line, "futami no ura ni," names a place that suggests the lid and body of a box, forming an associated word with "opening" in the first line.
In the third line, "yoru nami no," "yoru" is a pivot word meaning both "waves drawing near" and "night." His drawing near to the woman is likened to waves coming up on the shore.
The fourth line, "sode nomi nurete," means "only my sleeves are soaked." The sleeves wet with waves are overlaid with tears shed at not meeting.
In the last line, "okitsu shimabito," "oki" is a pivot word meaning both "offshore" and "awake." Ending on a noun, it shows one who cannot sleep and stays awake through the night like a man on an offshore island. "Bay," "waves," "offshore," and "islander" are linked as associated words, and the device of overlapping "dawning" and "opening" continues into the next poem's "akenu yo nagara akenureba."
Author: Fujiwara no Sanekata
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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