Nagaregi to tatsu shiranami to yaku shio to izure ka karaki watatsumi no soko - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

流れ木と立つ白波と焼く塩と
いづれかからきわたつみの底

Roma-ji: Nagaregi to tatsu shiranami to yaku shio to izure ka karaki watatsumi no soko
English Translation: The drifting timber,
the white waves that rise and break,
the salt that they burn—
which of these is the most bitter
down in the depths of the sea?
Meaning: The drifting timber, the rising white waves, the salt they burn from brine—which of them is the most bitter, down in the depths of the sea?
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Poems III 1701

Headnote: "Waves."
A poem on the topic of waves, this is the twelfth of Sugawara no Michizane's twelve poems on one-character topics and so the last of the sequence. Setting out things of the sea—drifting timber, white waves, salt being burned—he asks which is the most bitter. Into the saltiness he lays the bitterness he tastes in exile.
The author, "Kan Zō Daijō Daijin," is Sugawara no Michizane. No author is named in the original; the attribution continues from the preceding poem. The son of Sugawara no Koreyoshi and renowned as a scholar and poet in Chinese, he rose to Minister of the Right but under Emperor Daigo was demoted to Provisional Governor-General of Dazaifu and died in exile. Because he was posthumously granted the office of Chancellor, he is referred to by this title.

The first line, "nagaregi to," is driftwood floating on the sea. As something swept along with nowhere to rest, it calls to mind the poet's own lot.
The second line, "tatsu shiranami to," works in the waves of the topic, showing a rough sea where waves rise and break.
The third line, "yaku shio to," refers to boiling down seawater to make salt. "To" is repeated three times, listing things of the sea and setting the rhythm.
In the fourth line, "izure ka karaki," "karaki" is a pivot word meaning both "salty" and "bitter, painful." "Ka" is a particle of question, closed in kakari-musubi by the attributive "karaki."
The last line, "watatsumi no soko," means "the bottom of the sea." Ending on a noun, it shows a heart sunk as if to the sea floor and brings Michizane's sequence to a close.
Author: Sugawara no Michizane
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
Prev Poem: Hikoboshi no yukiai o matsu kasasagi no towataru hashi o ware ni kasanamu
Next Poem: Sazanami no Hira yamakaze no umi fukeba tsuri suru ama no sode kaeru miyu