Momozutau yaso no shimami o kogikuredo awa no kojima wa miredo akanu kamo

百伝ふ八十の島廻を漕ぎ来れど
粟の小島は見れど飽かぬかも

Roma-ji: Momozutau yaso no shimami o kogikuredo awa no kojima wa miredo akanu kamo
English Translation: Passed from hand to hand,
around the eighty isles and more
though I have rowed my way,
the little isle of Awa
I never tire of gazing on.
Meaning: I have rowed my way around countless islands, yet the little island of Awa is one I could never tire of looking at.
Commentary: Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems 1711

Headnote: none
The speaker has rowed past many islands, yet praises the little island of Awa as one he never tires of seeing. It is a poem in praise of the land.
There is no headnote, and a left note says that these two poems are by some attributed to Kakinomoto no Asomi Hitomaro. The location of the little island of Awa is uncertain; some place it near the province of Awa or Awaji Island.
The author, Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, was a court poet active in the reigns of Jitō and Monmu. The left note records only one account attributing the poem to him, so the authorship is uncertain.

The first line, momozutau, "passed on to a hundred," is a pillow word for yaso, "eighty," from counting on up to a hundred.
The second line, "around the eighty isles and more," means around many islands.
The third line, "though I have rowed my way," is concessive.
The fourth line, "the little isle of Awa," uses wa to single it out from the many.
The final line, "I never tire of gazing on," is a set phrase of praise for a place. Similar phrases in 1721, 1723, 1725, and 1736 carry it forward into the poems in praise of Yoshino that follow.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (according to one account)
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Wagimoko ga akamo hizuchite ueshi ta o karite osamemu kuranashi no hama
Next Poem: Ama no hara kumo naki yoi ni nubatama no yo wataru tsuki no iramaku oshi mo