Ashihiki no yamaji wa yukamu kaze fukeba nami no sasauru umiji wa yukaji

あしひきの山道は行かむ風吹けば
波の塞ふる海道は行かじ

Roma-ji: Ashihiki no yamaji wa yukamu kaze fukeba nami no sasauru umiji wa yukaji
English Translation: By the mountain road,
foot-weary though it be, I’ll go;
when the wind blows high,
the sea road the waves block—
that road I will not take
Meaning: I will go by the mountain road; I will not take the sea road, where the waves bar the way whenever the wind blows.
Commentary: Book Thirteen Elegies 3338

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Envoy"
This poem follows the preceding envoy. Having seen a traveler dead on the shore, the poet resolves not to take the sea road, which the waves block when the wind blows, but to go by the mountains. Taking up the chōka’s (3335) “the road the surging waves block,” it voices the choice of a new route after seeing the fate of one who lost his life at sea. Its pairing of mountain and sea, “I will go” and “I will not,” is clear-cut.
The poet is unknown. Book Thirteen is built mainly of anonymous chōka and their envoys, and many of its poems preserve the air of old songs and ritual verse.

The first line, “ashihiki no,” is a pillow word for “mountain.”
The second line, “yamaji wa yukamu,” means “I will take the mountain road,” the intentional “mu” stating resolve; the poem breaks here.
The third line, “kaze fukeba,” means “when the wind blows,” the perfective with “ba” expressing a regular condition: whenever it does.
In the fourth line, “sasau” means to block or bar, taking up the chōka’s “the road the surging waves block.”
The closing line, “umiji wa yukaji,” means “I will not take the sea road,” the negative volitional “ji” paired against “yukamu” in the second line.
Source: Manyoshu
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