Miwataseba Akashi no ura ni tomosu hi no ho ni zo idenuru imo ni kouraku

見わたせば明石の浦に燭す火の
穂にぞ出でぬる妹に恋ふらく

Roma-ji: Miwataseba Akashi no ura ni tomosu hi no ho ni zo idenuru imo ni kouraku
English Translation: As I gaze afar,
like the fires burning bright
in Akashi Bay,
it has flared out into view—
this heart that longs for my love.
Meaning: Like the fishing fires burning in Akashi Bay that I see far across the water, it has blazed out plain for all to see—my longing for my wife.
Commentary: Book Three Miscellaneous Poems 326

Headnote: "A poem composed by Prince Kadobe while in Naniwa on seeing the lights of fishermen," with the note "Later he was granted the clan name Ōhara no Mahito"
Staying in Naniwa and seeing the fishing fires on the night sea, the poet sings of his longing for his wife. Just as the fishing fires in distant Akashi Bay stand out clearly, the love he kept hidden in his heart has come out into the open. The first three lines form a preface leading, through the flame's "ear" or tip, to ho ni izu, "to come out into view," vividly overlaying the night seascape with his love.
The poet, Prince Kadobe, was a royal of the Nara period who served as Governor of Izumo and Master of the Right Capital, among other posts, and was later granted the clan name Ōhara no Mahito.

First line "As I gaze afar" means looking out across the water.
Second line "in Akashi Bay": a shore of Harima, seen across the sea from Naniwa.
Third line "like the fires burning bright": the fishermen's night fires; up to here is the preface leading to ho ni izu.
Fourth line "it has flared out into view": ho ni izu means both a flame rising to a point and feelings coming into the open. Zo is a binding particle concluded by the attributive nuru. The sentence breaks here.
Fifth line "this heart that longs for my love": kouraku is the nominal form of kou, "that I long." Inversion reveals only at the end that what has come out is love for his wife.
Author: Prince Kadobe
Source: Manyoshu
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