Tamatsushima iso no urami no manago ni mo nioite yukana imo mo furekemu

玉津島磯の浦廻の真砂にも
にほひて行かな妹も触れけむ

Roma-ji: Tamatsushima iso no urami no manago ni mo nioite yukana imo mo furekemu
English Translation: At Tamatsu Isle
in the sands along the cove
where the rocks meet sea,
let me take their hue and go,
for my love touched them as well.
Meaning: Let me go on with my robe tinged by the fine sands of the cove at Tamatsu Isle, for my wife must once have touched them too.
Commentary: Book Nine Elegies 1799

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Four poems composed in the province of Kii"
The speaker resolves to let the sands of Tamatsu Isle, which his late wife must once have touched, tinge his robe as he goes. By drawing close to the sand she touched, he seeks a bond with the departed.
This is the fourth of the four poems composed in Kii in memory of a dead wife. Tamatsushima is in Wakaura, present-day Wakayama City, and is known for its scenic beauty.
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 Tamatsu Isle," names the island at Wakaura.
The second line, "in the sands along the cove," uses the same words as the fourth line of 1671, singing of the Kii shore.
The third line, "where the rocks meet sea," leads to the fine sand.
The fourth line, "let me take their hue and go," uses niou, "to be dyed," with the volitional na; the poem pauses here.
The final line, "for my love touched them as well," uses kemu for past conjecture, placing the reason last through inversion.
Author: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Source: Manyoshu
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