Minasoko ni shizuku shiratama ta ga yue ni kokoro tsukushite waga omowanaku ni

水底に沈く白玉誰が故に
心尽して我が思はなくに

Roma-ji: Minasoko ni shizuku shiratama ta ga yue ni kokoro tsukushite waga omowanaku ni
English Translation: Deep beneath the waves
lies a pearl of purest white;
for whose sake but yours
would I spend my heart like this?
For no one else do I yearn
Meaning: White pearl lying on the floor of the sea—it is not for anyone else that I pour out my heart in longing.
Commentary: Book Seven Allegorical Poems 1320

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Jewels"
Addressing the white pearl on the sea floor, the poet pleads that it is for no one else but her that he spends his heart in longing. The pearl stands for a beloved woman, and the poem seeks to convey that his love is turned to her alone.
It is the fourth poem on jewels. Its first and second lines are in the same vein as "the white pearl lying on the ocean floor" of poem 1317, and share "lies a pearl" with the third line of the preceding poem. The poet is unknown.

The first line, "Deep beneath the waves," means "on the sea floor."
The second line, "lies a pearl of purest white," is an address to the pearl and is the same as the second line of poem 1317.
The third line, "for whose sake," asks "for whom else?" and answers to the final line.
The fourth line, "would I spend my heart like this," means to devote one's whole heart.
The final line, "For no one else do I yearn," means "it is not that I long for another"; with the third line it says that he longs for her and no one else.
Source: Manyoshu
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