Katsushika no mama no tegona ga arishikaba mama no osui ni nami mo todoro ni

葛飾の真間の手児名がありしかば
真間のおすひに波もとどろに

Roma-ji: Katsushika no mama no tegona ga arishikaba mama no osui ni nami mo todoro ni
English Translation: At Katsushika,
when Tekona of Mama
lived among us here,
on the rocky shore of Mama
how the waves came roaring in!
Meaning: When Tekona of Mama in Katsushika was alive, how the waves roared on the rocky shore of Mama!
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3385

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
When Tekona of Mama was alive, the singer says, the men made a commotion like the waves roaring on Mama's shore. The fervor of the crowd over the legendary beauty is vividly conveyed through the sound of the waves.
It is one of the Shimōsa poems and, following the preceding poem, sings of Tekona of Mama. Her legend is told in detail in a long poem by Takahashi no Mushimaro in Book Nine.
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, "katsushika no": The same opening as the preceding poem, naming Mama in Katsushika.
Second line, "mama no tegona ga": It differs from "Mama no tegona o" in the preceding poem only in its particle, making the maiden the subject.
Third line, "arishikaba": "Because she was alive," with "shika" past and "ba" a settled condition.
Fourth line, "mama no osui ni": "Osui" is obscure; one theory reads it as the rocky shore.
Final line, "nami mo todoro ni": "Todoro ni" describes a roaring sound; the waves' roar is laid over the clamor of the people. The ending leaves unsaid a verb such as "they stirred," lingering in suggestion.
Source: Manyoshu
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