Hitachi naru nasaka no umi no tamamo koso hikeba taesure ado ka taesemu

常陸なる浪逆の海の玉藻こそ
引けば絶えすれあどか絶えせむ

Roma-ji: Hitachi naru nasaka no umi no tamamo koso hikeba taesure ado ka taesemu
English Translation: In Hitachi lies
the sea of Nasaka, where
the jeweled seaweed
breaks off if you tug at it—
but how could our bond be broken?
Meaning: The jeweled seaweed in the sea of Nasaka in Hitachi may break when pulled—but how could our love ever be broken?
Commentary: Book Fourteen Azuma Poems 3397

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Sōmon (Love Exchanges)"
The seaweed in Hitachi's sea of Nasaka may tear when pulled, but how could the lovers' bond ever break? Contrasting seaweed and love, the poem firmly asserts a love that will not end.
The left note reads "The ten poems above are from Hitachi Province," and this is the last of them. The sea of Nasaka is thought to be part of present-day Kitaura or Kasumigaura in Ibaraki.
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, "hitachi naru": "Naru" marks location. Opening with the province's name, it closes the ten Hitachi poems.
Second line, "nasaka no umi no": An inland sea in Hitachi, thought to be near Kitaura or Sotonasakaura.
Third line, "tamamo koso": Beautiful seaweed, with the binding particle "koso," answered by the perfective "sure" in the fourth line.
Fourth line, "hikeba taesure": "It breaks off when pulled"; completing the "koso" binding in the perfective, it flows on with a contrastive sense.
Final line, "ado ka taesemu": "Ado" is an eastern "why," and "ka" is rhetorical: how could it ever break?
Source: Manyoshu
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