Naniwazu ni mifune hatenu to kikoekoba himo tokisakete tachibashiri semu

難波津に御船泊てぬと聞こえ来ば
紐解き放けて立ち走りせむ

Roma-ji: Naniwazu ni mifune hatenu to kikoekoba himo tokisakete tachibashiri semu
English Translation: At Naniwa Port
your ship has come in — when that
news reaches my ears,
with my sash still left untied
I will run out to meet you
Meaning: When word comes that your ship has docked at Naniwa, I will run out to meet you, my sash still untied.
Commentary: Book Five Miscellaneous Poems 896

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem for a good going and a good return, with two envoys"
The poet says that when he hears the embassy ship has docked at Naniwa, he will run out to meet it with his sash untied. Anticipating the joy of news of the return, he fervently wishes for a safe homecoming.
This is an envoy to the "Poem for a Good Going and a Good Return," which Yamanoue no Okura presented in Tenpyō 5 to Tajihi no Hironari, Ambassador to Tang China, praying for a safe voyage and a swift homecoming. "Good going, good return" means "fare well there and back." The long poem begins by declaring that Yamato is a land made majestic by its imperial gods and blessed by the power of words, and prays that the gods of the sea, of heaven and earth, and the Great Spirit of the Land of Yamato will guide and guard the ship, bringing it straight from Cape Chika to the beach of Mitsu in Naniwa on the day it returns. The left note says Okura met the ambassador at his home on the first day of the third month of Tenpyō 5 and presented the poem on the third.
The poet, Yamanoue no Okura, was an official who went to Tang China as a junior secretary with the embassy appointed in Taihō 1. After his return he served as Governor of Hōki and in the household of the Crown Prince, and late in the Jinki era he was posted to Tsukushi as Governor of Chikuzen. He is known for poems rooted in everyday life, on the sufferings of human existence, love for family, and poverty, written against a background of learning in Chinese classics and Buddhist scripture.

First line, "Naniwazu ni": the port of Naniwa, from which the embassy ships sailed, the same place as the preceding poem's Mitsu.
Second line, "mifune hatenu to": "hatsu" means a ship reaching port, taking up the long poem's "your ship will come to harbor."
Third line, "kikoekoba": "if word should come."
Fourth line, "himo tokisakete": with the sash of his robe left untied, not pausing to dress properly.
Fifth line, "tachibashiri semu": "I will run out," closing on an act of overflowing joy. It pairs with the quiet waiting of the preceding poem's "I will stand and wait," capturing the moment of arrival in motion.
Author: Yamanoue no Okura
Source: Manyoshu
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