Wata no soko oku o fukamete aga omoeru kimi ni wa awamu toshi wa henu tomo

海の底奥を深めて我が思へる
君には逢はむ年は経ぬとも

Roma-ji: Wata no soko oku o fukamete aga omoeru kimi ni wa awamu toshi wa henu tomo
English Translation: Like the ocean's floor,
deep and deeper in my heart
I have thought of you;
you are the one I will meet,
though the years may pass away
Meaning: Deep as the floor of the sea is my love for you, and I will meet you, however many years may pass.
Commentary: Book Four Love Poems 676

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Five poems sent by Nakatomi no Iratsume to Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi"
She vows to meet the one she loves as deeply as the sea floor, however many years may pass. The image of the deep sea conveys the depth of her feeling.
The author, Nakatomi no Iratsume, was a woman of the Nakatomi clan of whom little is known, one of the women who sent love poems to Ōtomo no Yakamochi.

First line, "Like the ocean's floor," is wata no soko, a pillow word for oku, "depths," since the sea floor is deep.
Second line, "deep and deeper in my heart," means from deep within my heart.
Third line, "I have thought of you," runs to six syllables: whom I love.
Fourth line, "you are the one I will meet," uses the volitional mu: you I will meet. The poem breaks after this line.
Fifth line, "though the years may pass away," means though years go by, showing by inversion the firmness of her resolve.
Author: Nakatomi no Iratsume
Source: Manyoshu
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