八十楫懸け島隠りなば我妹子が
留まれと振らむ袖見えじかも
留まれと振らむ袖見えじかも
- Roma-ji
-
Yasoka kake shimagakurinaba wagimoko ga tomare to furamu sode mieji kamo
- English Translation
-
Rowed by eighty oars,
once the ship's behind the isles,
my darling's sleeve,
waving "stay, oh stay,"
I will no longer see
- Meaning
- Once the ship with its countless oars is hidden behind the islands, will I no longer see my darling's sleeve waving for me to stay?
- Commentary
-
Book Twelve Dialogue Poems 3212
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Dialogue Poems"
A man answers the preceding poem: once the ship is hidden behind the islands, he will no longer see his wife's sleeve waving for him to stay. Opening with the same line as the preceding poem, it depicts the parting scene of a man on deck gazing at his wife on shore.
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, "yasoka kake," means "fitted with countless oars," taking up line three of the preceding poem.
Line two, "shimagakurinaba," means "once hidden behind the islands."
Line three, "wagimoko ga," means "my darling."
Line four, "tomare to furamu," means "waving for me to stay."
Line five, "sode mieji kamo," means "will I no longer see her sleeve?", contrasting with the sleeve that could not be waved for fear of watching eyes in poem 3184 in this book.
- Author
- Unknown
- Source
- Manyoshu
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