Takashima no adokawanami wa sawakedomo ware wa ie omou yadori kanashimi

高島の阿渡川波は騒けども
我れは家思ふ宿り悲しみ

Roma-ji: Takashima no adokawanami wa sawakedomo ware wa ie omou yadori kanashimi
English Translation: At Takashima
the waves upon the Ado River
roar and clamor loud,
yet I think only of my home,
sad at my lodging on the road.
Meaning: The waves of the Ado River at Takashima roar and clamor, yet all I think of is home, for my lodging on the road is so sad.
Commentary: Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems 1690

Headnote: "Two poems composed at Takashima"
Though the waves of the Ado River roar at Takashima, the traveler is not distracted and thinks only of home. The sorrow of a night on the road is conveyed through the contrast between the noisy waves and the quiet thought within.
Takashima is present-day Takashima in Shiga, and the Ado River is the Adogawa, which flows into the western shore of Lake Biwa. Poems 1718 and 1734 of this book also mention the harbor of Ado at Takashima, gathering poems of travel along the lake's western shore.
The author, Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, was a court poet active in the reigns of Jitō and Monmu. This poem is taken from the Hitomaro Collection, which is thought to contain both Hitomaro's own poems and poems by others that he gathered.

The first line, "at Takashima," names the place of the journey.
The second line, "the waves upon the Ado River," names the river waves.
The third line, "roar and clamor loud," is concessive, leading on to what follows.
The fourth line, "yet I think only of my home," uses wa to set the speaker against the waves, and the poem pauses here.
The final line, "sad at my lodging on the road," uses the suffix mi to give a reason, placing the cause of his longing at the end in inversion.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Source: Manyoshu
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