Waga inochi no masakiku araba mata mo mimu Shiga no Ōtsu ni yosuru shiranami

我が命のま幸くあらばまたも見む
志賀の大津に寄する白波

Roma-ji: Waga inochi no masakiku araba mata mo mimu Shiga no Ōtsu ni yosuru shiranami
English Translation: If this life of mine
should be spared and still be safe,
I will see once more
at Ōtsu there in Shiga
the white waves that break ashore.
Meaning: If my life is spared, I will come to see them again—the white waves breaking on the shore at Ōtsu in Shiga.
Commentary: Book Three Miscellaneous Poems 288

Headnote: "A poem by Hozumi no Ason Oyu"
Gazing at the white waves breaking at Ōtsu in Shiga, the poet prays that, if his life is spared, he may come to see them again. Along with praise for the beautiful scene lies a sense of his own uncertain future, not knowing whether he will return. A left note says the year and month of the royal visit are uncertain.
The poet, Hozumi no Oyu, was an official of the early Nara period who in Yōrō 6 (722) was exiled to Sado for criticizing the Emperor, and was pardoned and returned to the capital in Tenpyō 12 (740).

First line "If this life of mine" has one syllable too many.
Second line "should be spared and still be safe": ma is a prefix and masakiku means safe and well; araba is conditional.
Third line "I will see once more": mu expresses resolve, and the sentence breaks here.
Fourth line "at Ōtsu there in Shiga": Ōtsu, on the west shore of Lake Biwa, was the site of Emperor Tenji's palace.
Fifth line "the white waves that break ashore" ends on a noun, placing the object last in inversion.
Author: Hozumi no Oyu
Source: Manyoshu
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