茅渟廻より雨ぞ降り来る四極の海人
綱手干したり濡れもあへむかも
綱手干したり濡れもあへむかも
- Roma-ji
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Chinumi yori ame zo furikuru shihatsu no ama tsunade hoshitari nure mo aemu kamo
- English Translation
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From the Chinu shore
the rain comes sweeping this way;
the fishers of Shihatsu
have set their tow ropes to dry—
can they bear to let them soak?
- Meaning
- Rain is coming in from the coast of Chinu. The fishermen of Shihatsu have hung out their tow ropes to dry; can those ropes bear a soaking?
- Commentary
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Book Six Miscellaneous Poems 999
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Six poems from the time of the imperial progress to the Naniwa palace in the third month of spring"
Rain is sweeping in from the coast of Chinu, yet the fishermen of Shihatsu have left their tow ropes hanging out to dry; the poet worries whether they will be soaked. It is one of six poems from the third month of Tenpyō 6 (734), when Emperor Shōmu made a progress to the Naniwa palace. The note following the poem says, "The above poem was composed by Prince Moribe in response to an imperial command, on the road while returning to the palace after an excursion to the beach at Suminoe," so we know it was made on the way back from the shore at the sovereign's bidding.
Chinu refers to the coastline of the province of Izumi, the southeastern shore of present-day Osaka Bay. The location of Shihatsu is disputed, but it seems to have been near Suminoe. Through the eyes of one on the progress, the poem vividly captures a seaside scene with rain clouds approaching and the daily life of fishermen with their ropes hung out to dry.
The poet, Prince Moribe, was a son of Prince Toneri and a member of the imperial family in the Nara period.
The word "tow ropes" in the fourth line follows a text in which the base manuscript's reading was emended to "tsunade" according to the Man'yōshū Kogi.
The first line, "From the Chinu shore," means "from the coast of Chinu." "Mi" refers to a curving stretch of shore, and the line shows the direction from which the rain comes.
The second line, "the rain comes sweeping this way," means that rain is coming. "Zo" is an emphatic binding particle, closing with the attributive "kuru." The sense breaks here, after the second line.
The third line, "the fishers of Shihatsu," has an extra syllable, and the gaze turns to the fishermen in the path of the rain.
The fourth line, "have set their tow ropes to dry," uses "tari" to express a continuing state; "tsunade" are ropes used to haul boats. The sense breaks here as well, presenting the combination of the rain and the ropes hung out to dry.
The final line, "can they bear to let them soak?" means "can they endure being wet?" "Au" means to endure or to manage, and "kamo" expresses both doubt and emotion. The poem closes with concern for the fishermen's ropes.
- Author
- Prince Moribe
- Source
- Manyoshu
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