Ujigawa o fune watase o to yobaedomo kikoezaru rashi kaji no oto mo sezu

宇治川を舟渡せをと呼ばへども
聞こえざるらし楫の音もせず

Roma-ji: Ujigawa o fune watase o to yobaedomo kikoezaru rashi kaji no oto mo sezu
English Translation: Over the Uji
"Row me across!" I call out,
again and again,
but it seems they cannot hear—
not a sound of oars is there
Meaning: "Ferry me across the Uji River!" I call and call, but it seems no one hears me—there is not even the sound of an oar.
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1138

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed in Yamashiro"
The poet calls again and again for the ferry to take him across the Uji River, but the far bank seems not to hear, and there is no sound of oars. The unease and impatience of a traveler facing a wide, swift river come through clearly.
In poem 1135 in this book the poet heard the fishermen calling for boats; here he himself is the one calling, and his voice is set against a silence that gives no answer. The poet is unknown.

The first line names the Uji River that he wishes to cross.
In the second line, "o" is an interjectory particle of calling, reproducing the shout "Row me across!"
The third line, "again and again," means calling repeatedly, answering "calling out for ferry boats" in poem 1135.
In the fourth line, "rashi" expresses inference, and the poem pauses here.
The final line, "not a sound of oars is there," gives the evidence for the inference by inversion.
Source: Manyoshu
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