縄の浦ゆそがひに見ゆる沖つ島
漕ぎ廻る舟は釣りしすらしも
漕ぎ廻る舟は釣りしすらしも
- Roma-ji
-
Nawa no ura yu sogai ni miyuru okitsushima kogimiru fune wa tsuri shi surashi mo
- English Translation
-
From the bay of Nawa,
seen behind me, far out there,
an island offshore—
the boats that row around it
must be fishing, I suppose.
- Meaning
- Around the offshore island seen behind me from the bay of Nawa, the boats rowing about must be out fishing.
- Commentary
-
Book Three Miscellaneous Poems 357
Headnote: "Six poems by Yamabe no Sukune Akahito"
This is the first of Yamabe no Akahito's six poems. From Nawa Bay in Harima, he watches boats rowing around an island visible behind him and surmises that they are fishing. A clear landscape poem in Akahito's manner, quietly catching the movements of distant small boats. Poem 354 in this book also sings of Nawa Bay, so poems on the same place are placed in succession.
Yamabe no Akahito's six poems center on travel along the shores of Harima and Settsu, interweaving longing for home and love.
The poet, Yamabe no Akahito, was a court poet of the reign of Shōmu who composed many poems on royal excursions and excelled in clear, limpid landscape verse. Later ages ranked him with Kakinomoto no Hitomaro as a "Saint of Poetry."
First line "From the bay of Nawa": a shore of Harima, with yu marking the starting point. The line has one syllable too many.
Second line "seen behind me, far out there": sogai means the direction behind.
Third line "an island offshore": okitsushima is an island out at sea.
Fourth line "the boats that row around it": miru means to go around.
Fifth line "must be fishing, I suppose": shi is emphatic, rashi inferential, and mo exclamatory.
- Author
- Yamabe no Akahito
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
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Kyō mo ka mo Asuka no kawa no yū sarazu kawazu naku se no sayakeku aruramu
- Next Poem
-
Muko no ura o kogimiru obune Awashima o sogai ni mitsutsu tomoshiki obune