Ametsuchi o nageki koinomi sakiku araba mata kaerimimu shiga no karasaki

天地を嘆き祈ひ祷み幸くあらば
またかへり見む志賀の唐崎

Roma-ji: Ametsuchi o nageki koinomi sakiku araba mata kaerimimu shiga no karasaki
English Translation: To heaven and earth
I make my plea in sorrow:
if I live unharmed,
once again I will return to see
Karasaki of Shiga
Meaning: Grieving, I pray to the gods of heaven and earth: if I come through safely, I will return once more to see Karasaki at Shiga.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Miscellaneous Poems 3241

Headnote: "Envoy"
This is the envoy to the chōka (3240). One who sets out under the sovereign’s command prays to the gods of heaven and earth for safety and wishes, if he lives, to see Karasaki at Shiga again. The chōka too contains “if I live unharmed, I will come back to see,” and the envoy repeats it, fixing its close on Karasaki. The left note says that, according to a certain book, this short poem was composed by Hozumi no Ason Oyu when he was exiled to Sado, and the unease of an exile whose destination is unknown seeps through. It shares the place name and the word “sakiku” (safe) with the envoy to Kakinomoto no Hitomaro’s poem on the ruined capital of Ōmi (Book One, 30): “Karasaki of Shiga in Sasanami stays unchanged.”
The poet Hozumi no Oyu was an official of the early Nara period from the Hozumi no Ason clan. He was exiled to Sado in the sixth year of Yōrō for criticizing the sovereign and was pardoned and returned to the capital in the twelfth year of Tenpyō. The attribution of this poem to him, however, rests only on the certain book cited in the left note and is not settled.

The first line, “ametsuchi o,” points to the gods of heaven and earth, setting out the vast object of the prayer.
The second line, “nageki koinomi,” means to pray while grieving; piling up the verbs of prayer “kou” and “nomu” heightens its urgency.
In the third line, “sakiku” means safe and unharmed, and “araba” is a conditional: “if I am safe,” supposing the fate of his life.
The fourth line, “mata kaerimimu,” means “I will come back and see again,” the auxiliary “mu” expressing intention; the envoy repeats the chōka’s phrase.
The closing line, “Shiga no Karasaki,” is a cape on the west shore of Lake Biwa; ending on the noun, the poem places last, by inversion, the name to be held in the heart on departure.
Author: Hozumi no Oyu (according to a certain text)
Source: Manyoshu
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