Imo ni koi aga no matsubara miwataseba shiohi no kata ni tazu naki wataru

妹に恋ひ吾の松原見わたせば
潮干の潟に鶴鳴き渡る

Roma-ji: Imo ni koi aga no matsubara miwataseba shiohi no kata ni tazu naki wataru
English Translation: Longing for my love,
at the pine grove of Aga
as I gaze afar,
across the ebb-tide mudflats
cranes are crying as they fly
Meaning: Longing for my beloved, I look out across the pine grove of Aga, and over the mudflats bared by the ebbing tide, cranes fly crying.
Commentary: Book Six Miscellaneous Poems 1030

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem composed by the Emperor"
In this poem Emperor Shōmu looks out over the pine grove of Aga and sings of the seashore of Ise, where cranes fly crying over the mudflats bared by the ebbing tide. It is a poem from the journey of Tenpyō 12 (740), when Emperor Shōmu made a progress to the province of Ise following the rebellion of Fujiwara no Hirotsugu, Junior Assistant Governor-General of Dazaifu, the so-called progress to the east. By opening with "Longing for my love," he adds to the grand seaside view the feelings of a traveler who yearns for the one left behind in the capital.
The left note reads: "On consideration, the pine grove of Aga is in Mie District and is far from the temporary palace of Kawaguchi. Perhaps this poem was composed when the Emperor stayed at the temporary palace of Asake, and those who transmitted it were mistaken." Because the pine grove of Aga lay in Mie District of Ise, far from the temporary palace of Kawaguchi, the compiler surmises that it was in fact composed during the stay at the next temporary palace, Asake, and was placed here by mistake.
The poet, Emperor Shōmu, was a son of Emperor Monmu, and his mother was Fujiwara no Miyako. He ascended the throne in Jinki 1 (724). After this progress he moved the capital to Kuni, Shigaraki, and Naniwa, and he is known as the emperor who vowed to build the Great Buddha of Tōdaiji.

Where Yakamochi in the preceding poem, 1029, thought of his wife while lodging in the fields, "the sleeves of my beloved come to my mind," here the Emperor also begins with "Longing for my love" but turns his eyes to the broad expanse of the mudflats, so that the two resonate as poems of the same journey.
The first line, "Longing for my love," is a pillow word for the place name "Aga no matsubara" in the second line, through the sense "longing, I wait" ("aga matsu"). "Matsu," "pine," doubles as "matsu," "to wait," overlaying the place name with the feelings of love.
The second line, "at the pine grove of Aga," names a pine grove in Mie District of Ise which, according to the left note, was far from the temporary palace of Kawaguchi.
In the third line, "as I gaze afar," "miwataseba" means "when I look out," with "-ba" marking an established condition. It opens the view wide and leads to the scene of the lower half.
The fourth line, "across the ebb-tide mudflats," shows the broad shore of Ise bared by the retreating tide.
The final line, "cranes are crying as they fly," uses "tazu," the poetic word for crane. With the cries echoing over the flats and the sight of the birds in flight, the poem closes on a grand scene tinged with the loneliness of travel.
Author: Emperor Shōmu
Source: Manyoshu
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