Ōumi ni shima mo aranaku ni unabara no tayutau nami ni tateru shirakumo

大海に島もあらなくに海原の
たゆたふ波に立てる白雲

Roma-ji: Ōumi ni shima mo aranaku ni unabara no tayutau nami ni tateru shirakumo
English Translation: On the great ocean
though there is no isle at all,
on the swaying waves
of the wide expanse of sea
there stands a pure white cloud
Meaning: Though there is no island anywhere on the great ocean, over the swaying waves of the wide sea a white cloud stands.
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1089

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Clouds"
This poem depicts a white cloud standing over the rolling waves of a vast ocean without a single island. Against the common notion that clouds cling to mountains and islands, it conveys the wonder and grandeur of a cloud rising from the empty sea.
The left note says, "The poem above was composed while accompanying the sovereign to Ise," so it dates from an imperial progress to Ise. Some link it to Empress Jitō's journey to Ise in her sixth year (692). The poet is unknown.
Whereas the two preceding poems sang of clouds on the mountains, this one turns to a cloud at sea, so that the arrangement treats clouds over both mountain and ocean.

The first line, "On the great ocean," refers to the wide open sea.
In the second line, "though there is no isle at all," "naku ni" is the nominalized negative with "ni," meaning "though there is no island."
The third line, "of the wide expanse of sea," refers to the ocean surface stretching as far as the eye can see.
In the fourth line, "on the swaying waves," "tayutau" means to sway and drift, stressing that the cloud stands over the unsettled waves.
The final line, "there stands a pure white cloud," ends with the noun "shirakumo" (white cloud); "-ru" is the attributive of the stative "ri," "a cloud that is standing."
Source: Manyoshu
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