Ōumi no minasoko terashi shizuku tama iwaite toramu kaze na fuki so ne

大海の水底照らし沈く玉
斎ひて採らむ風な吹きそね

Roma-ji: Ōumi no minasoko terashi shizuku tama iwaite toramu kaze na fuki so ne
English Translation: In the great ocean,
lighting up the depths below,
there lies a pearl—
with due reverence I'll take it;
wind, I pray you, do not blow
Meaning: The pearl lying in the great sea, lighting up the depths—with reverent care I will take it. Wind, please do not blow.
Commentary: Book Seven Allegorical Poems 1319

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Jewels"
The poet means to take, with purity and care, the pearl that lies so bright it lights up the depths of the great sea, and asks the wind not to blow. The pearl stands for a woman of radiant excellence and the wind for obstacles to love; the poem shows the wish to receive a precious person with due care.
It is the third poem on jewels. Where poem 1317 vowed to take the pearl though the wind might blow, this one prays that the wind will not blow, treating the same conceit from another side. The wish that the wind not blow appears again in poem 1327 in this book. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "In the great ocean," sets the scene.
The second line, "lighting up the depths below," shows how brightly the pearl shines.
The third line, "there lies a pearl," uses the same word as "lies a pearl" in the second line of poem 1317.
The fourth line, "with due reverence I'll take it," uses "iwau," to purify oneself and act with care, and the poem pauses here.
The final line, "wind, I pray you, do not blow," is a prohibition and wish with "na ... so ne," contrasting with "though the wind may blow" in the third line of poem 1317.
Source: Manyoshu
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