Tamamo karu okie wa kogaji shikitae no makura no atari wasurekanetsu mo

玉藻刈る沖へは漕がじ敷栲の
枕のあたり忘れかねつも

Roma-ji: Tamamo karu okie wa kogaji shikitae no makura no atari wasurekanetsu mo
English Translation: Toward the offing
where they cut the jeweled weed
I will not row out;
by my pillow, where we lay—
that I cannot forget.
Meaning: I will not row out toward the open sea where the seaweed is gathered—I cannot forget the place beside my pillow where we lay together.
Commentary: Book One Miscellaneous Poems 72

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Poems from the journey of the late Emperor to the Naniwa Palace"
On the sea at Naniwa, the poet vows not to row out toward the offing where seaweed is cut, for he cannot forget the pillow where he lay with his love. Mindful that rowing out would take him farther away, he frankly confesses his attachment to the memory of their night together. "Beside the pillow" is read either as the bed shared with a wife at home or with a woman met on the journey. The left note names the author as Fujiwara no Umakai, Minister of Ceremonial, but Umakai was still young at the time, and the title is thought to reflect a later office.
Fujiwara no Umakai was the third son of Fujiwara no Fuhito and founder of the Shiki house, one of the four Fujiwara houses. He went to Tang China as vice-envoy and later served as Minister of Ceremonial and as a councilor of state. He also left Chinese poems in the Kaifūsō.

The first line, "where the jeweled weed is cut," is also taken as a pillow word for "offing," presenting the open sea where fisherfolk gather seaweed. It shares the phrase "cutting the jeweled weed" with poems 23 and 41 of this book.
In the second line, ji is a negative auxiliary of intent: "I will not row out." The poem breaks here.
The third line, shikitae no, cloth spread on a bed, is a pillow word for "pillow," "robe," "sleeve," and the like.
The fourth line, "around the pillow," recalls the one with whom he shared the night.
In the last line, kanu means "cannot," tsu is perfective, and mo exclamatory: "I cannot forget it." It gives, after the fact, the reason for refusing to row out in the second line.
Author: Fujiwara no Umakai
Source: Manyoshu
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