Ōkimi wa kami ni shi maseba maki no tatsu arayamanaka ni umi o nasu kamo

大君は神にしませば真木の立つ
荒山中に海を成すかも

Roma-ji: Ōkimi wa kami ni shi maseba maki no tatsu arayamanaka ni umi o nasu kamo
English Translation: Our great sovereign,
being a god, has fashioned—
where the true trees stand
in the midst of wild mountains—
a sea spread out upon the land.
Meaning: Because our great lord is a god, he creates a sea in the midst of wild mountains where the stately trees stand.
Commentary: Book Three Miscellaneous Poems 241

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem with tanka composed by Kakinomoto no Hitomaro when Prince Naga went hunting at Karuji Pond" — "One envoy from a certain text"
This envoy to the same long poem is transmitted in a certain text. It praises Karuji Pond as a sea created by the divine prince amid the uninhabited mountains. Using the same formula as poem 235, "being a god," it celebrates the pond as a god's work, a sea brought forth among the hills.
The poet, Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, was a court poet active from the reign of Jitō to that of Monmu, master of both long and short poems, later revered as the "Saint of Poetry."

First line "Our great sovereign" refers here to Prince Naga, and is identical to the first line of poem 235.
Second line "being a god": shi is emphatic and mase is the conditional of the honorific masu. As in the second line of poem 235, divine power is set forth as the ground of praise.
Third line "where the true trees stand": maki are fine trees such as cedar and cypress, and their standing thick conveys the depth of the mountains that follow.
Fourth line "in the midst of wild mountains" means amid rugged, uninhabited heights, preparing the contrast of mountain and sea.
Fifth line "a sea spread out" exaggerates the pond into a sea and marvels at it as divine work, with kamo expressing wonder. The contrast of a sea within the mountains heightens the prince's divine might.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Source: Manyoshu
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