Ōbune o arumi ni kogide ya funatake waga mishi kora ga mami wa shirushi mo

大船を荒海に漕ぎ出でや船たけ
我が見し子らがまみはしるしも

Roma-ji: Ōbune o arumi ni kogide ya funatake waga mishi kora ga mami wa shirushi mo
English Translation: Our great ship we row
out upon the raging sea—
heave, and drive her on!
the girl on whom my eyes rested,
how clear her eyes remain!
Meaning: We row the great ship out onto the rough sea—come, drive her on! Yet the eyes of the girl I saw stay vivid before me.
Commentary: Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1266

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Occasional Poems"
Rowing the great ship out onto the rough sea and driving her on, the poet finds the eyes of the girl he saw vividly before him. Even amid the tension of setting out on a rough sea, the image of the girl he left behind returns clearly.
It is one of the occasional poems. The upper verse, with the vigor of setting sail, contrasts with the lower verse, which recalls the girl's face. It comes from the Old Poetry Collection. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "Our great ship we row," names the large vessel.
The second line, "out upon the raging sea," means rowing out onto rough waters.
In the third line, "ya" is taken either as a rowing cry or as an interjectory particle: "come, drive her on!" The poem pauses here.
The fourth line refers to the girl the poet saw.
The final line, "how clear her eyes remain," says that her face is still vivid in his mind.
Source: Manyoshu
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