Natsusobiku unakamigata no okitsu su ni fune wa todomemu sayo fukenikeri

夏麻引く海上潟の沖つ洲に
船は留めむさ夜更けにけり

Roma-ji: Natsusobiku unakamigata no okitsu su ni fune wa todomemu sayo fukenikeri
English Translation: Hemp-pulling Unakami—
on the sandbar of its tideflat,
out in the offing,
there I will moor my boat now:
the night has grown deep and late.
Meaning: Out on the sandbar off the tideflats of Unakami, let me moor the boat. The night has already grown deep.
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3348

Headnote: "Azuma Poems"
This poem tells of mooring a boat on a sandbar off the Unakami tideflats, marking a pause in a night voyage. The unease of crossing a dark sea and the relief of stopping to rest are given in simple words.
Book Fourteen of the Man'yōshū consists entirely of Azuma uta, and this poem stands at its head. The left note reads "The poem above is from Kazusa Province," placing it near present-day Ichihara in Chiba Prefecture. The book opens with five miscellaneous poems whose provinces are known, and this is the first of them.
The poet is unknown. The Azuma uta are thought to have been sung among the people of the eastern provinces, and they are marked by plain, open-hearted expression mixed with local dialect.

First line, "natsusobiku": A pillow word attached to "Unakami." It is said to link through sound, from pulling hemp out of the "una" (furrows). As the first line of the book, it sets the tone with the ring of eastern place-lore.
Second line, "unakamigata no": The tideflats of Unakami District in Kazusa, thought to be near present-day Ichihara. The particle "no" carries on to the sandbar.
Third line, "okitsu su ni": "Tsu" is an old particle equivalent to "no," so the phrase means a sandbar lying offshore. The sandbar that emerges off the flats becomes the place to stop the boat.
Fourth line, "fune wa todomemu": "Mu" expresses intention: the speaker resolves to moor here. The poem pauses after this line.
Final line, "sayo fukenikeri": "Sa" is a prefix, and "nikeri" combines completion with exclamation, conveying the sudden realization that the night is far advanced. The last line supplies the reason for the fourth after the fact, in an inverted structure.
Source: Manyoshu
Prev Poem: Kusamakura kono tabi no ke ni tsuma sakari ieji omou ni ikeru sube nashi
Next Poem: Katsushika no mama no urami o kogu fune no funabito sawaku nami tatsurashimo