大海の水底響み立つ波の
寄らむと思へる磯のさやけさ
寄らむと思へる磯のさやけさ
- Roma-ji
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Ōumi no minasoko toyomi tatsu nami no yoramu to omoeru iso no sayakesa
- English Translation
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In the great ocean
shaking the depths of the sea,
the rising waves—
the rocky shore they long to reach,
how pure and clear it is!
- Meaning
- The waves that rise from the great ocean, shaking its very depths—how pure is the rocky shore they long to reach!
- Commentary
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Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1201
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed on Journeys"
The poem praises the purity of the rocky shore toward which waves rise, shaking the ocean to its depths, as if they meant to come ashore there. The powerful movement of the waves is set against the clarity of the shore they seek.
It closely resembles poem 1239 in this book, "The waves that rise, shaking the rocks of the great sea—how clear the beach they mean to reach," suggesting that poems of the same pattern were handed down in the Old Collection. It is regarded as coming from that collection. The poet is unknown.
The first line, "In the great ocean," is the same as the first line of poem 1239.
The second line, "shaking the depths of the sea," means making the sea bottom resound.
The third line, "the rising waves," is also shared with poem 1239.
The fourth line, "the rocky shore they long to reach," personifies the waves.
The final line ends with a noun, expressing wonder at the purity of the shore; it answers "how clear the beach," the last line of poem 1239.
- Source
- Manyoshu
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