磯の上に爪木折り焚き汝がためと
我が潜き来し沖つ白玉
我が潜き来し沖つ白玉
- Roma-ji
-
Iso no ue ni tsumagi ori taki na ga tame to waga kazukikoshi okitsu shiratama
- English Translation
-
On the rocky shore
breaking brushwood for a fire,
for your sake alone
I dived to bring it to you—
this white pearl from the sea
- Meaning
- Breaking twigs for a fire on the rocky shore, I dived deep for your sake alone—here is the white pearl I brought up from the sea.
- Commentary
-
Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1203
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed on Journeys"
Warming his chilled body by a fire of twigs on the rocky shore, the speaker offers the pearl he dived for in the sea for the sake of the one he loves. The giving of a pearl won with such toil is filled with deep affection.
It is regarded as coming from the Old Collection. It may be read as spoken in the person of a fisherman, or as a traveler presenting a pearl as a gift. The poet is unknown.
The first line, "On the rocky shore," sets the scene.
In the second line, "tsumagi" means small twigs for firewood: "breaking them and burning them."
The third line, "for your sake alone," means "thinking it was for you."
The fourth line, "I dived to bring it to you," means "that I brought up by diving."
The final line ends with the noun "okitsu shiratama," a pearl from the deep sea floor.
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
-
Ariso yu mo mashite omoe ya tama no ura hanarekojima no ime ni shi miyuru
- Next Poem
-
Hama kiyomi iso ni waga oreba mimu hito wa ama to ka miramu tsuri mo senaku ni