Sasanami no nami kosu aza ni furu kosame aida mo okite waga omowanaku ni

楽浪の波越すあざに降る小雨
間も置きて我が思はなくに

Roma-ji: Sasanami no nami kosu aza ni furu kosame aida mo okite waga omowanaku ni
English Translation: At Sasanami
on the ridge the waves wash over
falls a gentle rain,
yet never with a pause like that
have I thought of you
Meaning: Like the light rain that falls with pauses on the ridges the waves wash over at Sasanami, it is not with any pause that I think of you.
Commentary: Book Twelve Expressing Thoughts through Things 3046

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Thoughts through Things"
Using the light rain falling on the shores of Sasanami as an introduction, the poet says that the longing comes not with pauses but without end. Rain that falls intermittently is contrasted with ceaseless longing.
The poet is unknown. Book Twelve, titled the second part of "Love Poems Exchanged Old and New," gathers love poems by people whose names have not come down to us, arranged by category.

Line one, "Sasanami no," refers to the region along the southwest shore of Lake Biwa.
Line two, "nami kosu aza ni," is taken to mean "on the ridges the waves wash over," though the meaning of "aza" is debated.
Line three, "furu kosame," means "the falling light rain," and the lines up to here form an introduction leading, through rain that falls with pauses, to "aida mo okite."
Line four, "aida mo okite," means "with any pause."
Line five, "waga omowanaku ni," means "it is not so that I think of you," showing ceaseless longing.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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