Nigitatsu ni funanori semu to tsuki mateba shio mo kanainu ima wa kogiide na

熟田津に船乗りせむと月待てば
潮もかなひぬ今は漕ぎ出でな

Roma-ji: Nigitatsu ni funanori semu to tsuki mateba shio mo kanainu ima wa kogiide na
English Translation: At Nigitatsu,
as we waited for the moon
to go aboard ship,
the tide too has come aright—
now let us row out to sea!
Meaning: At Nigitatsu we waited for the moon to rise so that we might board our ships, and now the tide too has turned in our favor. The time is now—let us row out!
Commentary: Book One Miscellaneous Poems 8

Headnote: "In the reign of the Sovereign who ruled from the Later Okamoto Palace: a poem by Princess Nukata"
A poem proclaiming that, with the moon risen and the tide full, the moment to set sail has come at last. It is thought to date from 661, the seventh year of Empress Saimei, when a fleet bound west to aid Paekche lay at anchor at Nigitatsu in Iyo, and it carries the force to rouse the spirits of those about to depart. The left note, citing the Ruiju Karin, calls it the Sovereign's own poem, and the prevailing view is that Nukata composed it on Empress Saimei's behalf. It is widely known as one of the finest poems of the Man'yōshū.
Princess Nukata is the leading woman poet of the early Man'yōshū. Said to be the daughter of Prince Kagami, she bore Princess Tōchi to Prince Ōama (later Emperor Tenmu) and afterward served Emperor Tenji. She is known for the many poems she composed at court rites and on royal journeys, often voicing the sovereign's own feelings.

The first line, "at Nigitatsu," names a harbor in Iyo Province, thought to have lain near the Dōgo hot springs in present-day Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture. The particle ni marks the place of embarkation.
The second line, funanori semu to, uses the volitional mu: "meaning to go aboard." To indicates the purpose of the waiting in the third line.
The third line, tsuki mateba, is a conditional of fact—"as we waited for the moon." It shows the concrete situation of waiting for moonrise before a night voyage.
The fourth line, "the tide too has come aright," ends with the perfective nu. Mo ("too") shows that, together with the moon, every condition is now in place, and the poem breaks after this line.
The last line, ima wa kogiide na, ends with na, a particle of exhortation: "now let us row out." "Now" is pressed hard, turning vividly from waiting to action. The line is hypermetric.
Author: Princess Nukata
Source: Manyoshu
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