大海をさもらふ港事しあらば
いづへゆ君は我を率しのがむ
いづへゆ君は我を率しのがむ
- Roma-ji
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Ōumi o samorau minato koto shi araba izue yu kimi wa wa o ishinogamu
- English Translation
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Watching the wide sea,
waiting in the harbor there—
should some trouble come,
by what way, my love, would you
lead me safely through it all?
- Meaning
- In the harbor where the ships wait, watching the great sea—if trouble should come, by what way would you take me with you and bring me through it?
- Commentary
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Book Seven Allegorical Poems 1308
Headnote: "On the Sea"
In the harbor where ships wait, watching the great sea, the speaker asks by what way her lover would lead her to safety if trouble arose. The harbor watching a rough sea stands for a hidden love, and the poem is taken to express a woman's anxiety over whether her lover would protect her if their affair were discovered.
It is the first poem under the heading "On the Sea," which covers three poems. The next poem, 1309, also sings of a rough sea, and the two share the device of likening a stormy sea to the obstacles of love. According to the left note it comes from the Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Collection.
The first line, "Watching the wide sea," refers to observing the state of the ocean.
The second line, "waiting in the harbor there," names the harbor where ships wait for fair weather.
In the third line, "should some trouble come," "shi" adds emphasis.
The fourth line, "by what way, my love, would you," asks the route.
The final line, "lead me safely through it all?" takes up the question of the fourth line.
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
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Kono kawa yu fune wa yukubeku ari to iedo watarize goto ni moru hito no arite
- Next Poem
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Kaze fukite umi wa aru tomo asu to iwaba hisashiku arubeshi kimi ga manimani