Wagimoko o yoso nomi ya mimu Koshi no umi no Kogata no umi no shima naranaku ni

我妹子を外のみや見む越の海の
子難の海の島ならなくに

Roma-ji: Wagimoko o yoso nomi ya mimu Koshi no umi no Kogata no umi no shima naranaku ni
English Translation: My darling girl,
must I only gaze from afar?
She is not an island
in the Kogata Sea,
in the sea of Koshi
Meaning: Must I only gaze at my beloved from afar? She is no island in the Kogata Sea off Koshi.
Commentary: Book Twelve Thoughts Arising on Journeys 3166

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Thoughts Arising on Journeys"
The poet asks whether he must only gaze at his beloved from afar, though she is no distant island in the sea of Koshi, expressing the frustration of being unable to draw near. Citing an island in the northern sea, it voices the lament of a traveler who can only look from a distance.
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, "wagimoko o," means "my beloved."
Line two, "yoso nomi ya mimu," means "must I only look from afar?", with "ya" a question. The poem pauses here.
Line three, "Koshi no umi no," means "of the sea of Koshi," the northern provinces, also featured in poem 3153 in this book.
Line four, "Kogata no umi no," means "of the Kogata Sea" in the sea of Koshi, whose location is debated.
Line five, "shima naranaku ni," means "she is not an island," showing the wish to draw near rather than merely gaze.
Author: Unknown
Source: Manyoshu
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