Kakaramu to kanete shiriseba ōmifune hateshi tomari ni shime yuwamashi o

かからむとかねて知りせば大御船
泊てし泊りに標結はましを

Roma-ji: Kakaramu to kanete shiriseba ōmifune hateshi tomari ni shime yuwamashi o
English Translation: Had I only known
long before that it would be so,
at the anchorage
where our lord's great ship put in,
I would have strung a sacred rope.
Meaning: Had I known long ago that it would come to this, I would have strung a sacred rope across the harbor where our lord's great ship came to anchor.
Commentary: Book Two Elegies 151

Headnote: "Two poems from the time of the great temporary enshrinement of the Emperor"
Mourning Emperor Tenji, she regrets that had she known this would happen, she would have strung a sacred rope across the harbor where his ship had anchored to hold his spirit there.
According to the headnote, this is the first of two poems from the period of the great temporary enshrinement, when the Emperor's body lay in state before burial, and a small note, "Princess Nukata," at its end identifies the author. The note has been removed from the text of the poem.
The author, Princess Nukata, is said to have been a daughter of Prince Kagami. She was first loved by Prince Ōama, the future Emperor Tenmu, and bore him Princess Tōchi; later she is said to have served Emperor Tenji. She is the leading woman poet of the early Man'yōshū.

The first line, "kakaramu to," means "that it would be like this."
In the second line, "kanete shiriseba," se is the irrealis of the past auxiliary ki, and seba ... mashi forms a counterfactual: had I known beforehand.
The third line, "ōmifune," is the ship on which the Emperor rode; the third line of the next poem is the same.
The fourth line, "hateshi tomari ni," means "at the harbor where it anchored." Poem 122 by Prince Yuge in this book also has "hatsuru tomari."
In the final line, "shime yuwamashi o," mashi is counterfactual: I should have strung the rope. It echoes "shime yue waga se" in 115 by Princess Tajima, forming a pair of a marker to follow a lover and a marker to hold back a dead emperor.
Author: Princess Nukata
Source: Manyoshu
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