おほかたは我が名もみなと漕ぎ出でなむ
世をうみべたにみるめ少なし
世をうみべたにみるめ少なし
- Roma-ji
-
Ōkata wa waga na mo minato kogiidenamu yo o umibeta ni mirume sukunashi
- English Translation
-
Let it be, then,
let my name too put out
from the harbor for all;
weary of the world by the sea,
the sea-pine of meeting is so scarce
- Meaning
- So be it, then: let my name, too, row out from the harbor for everyone to know; for weary of the world, here by the sea, the sea-pine of our meetings is so scarce.
- Commentary
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Book Thirteen Love Poems III 669
Headnote: "Topic unknown."
Since chances to meet are so few anyway, the poet resolves to row out from the harbor, that is, to let love be known without caring about rumors. With minato punning on "harbor" and "for all," umi on "weary" and "sea," and mirume on "sea-pine" and "a chance to meet," the string of sea words expresses a reckless heart ready to abandon hidden love.
The author is recorded as anonymous, and the name has not come down to us.
From here to the end of the book, poems about rumors of love arising continue.
The first line, "ōkata wa," means "all in all, then, let it be."
The second line, "waga na mo minato," uses minato as a pivot word for "harbor" and "for all," meaning "let my name too be known to all."
The third line, "kogiidenamu," means "let me row out," formed from na, the irrealis of the perfective nu, and the volitional mu, with a pause after the third line.
The fourth line, "yo o umibeta ni," uses umi as a pivot word for "weary" and "sea," overlaying weariness of the world with the seashore.
The final line, "mirume sukunashi," uses mirume as a pivot word for "sea-pine" and "a chance to meet," overlaying scarce seaweed with scarce meetings. "Harbor," "row out," "seashore," and "sea-pine" are associated words.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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