月読みの光りを清み夕なぎに
水手の声呼び浦廻漕ぐかも
水手の声呼び浦廻漕ぐかも
- Roma-ji
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Tsukuyomi no hikari o kiyomi yūnagi ni kako no koe yobi urami kogu kamo
- English Translation
-
Because the moonlight
is shining so pure and clear,
in the evening calm
the oarsmen call to each other
rowing round the bay
- Meaning
- Because the moonlight shines so clear, in the evening calm the oarsmen call to one another as they row along the curving bay.
- Commentary
-
Book Fifteen Poems of the Envoys to Silla 3622
Headnote: "Three poems composed on the night of sailing out from Nagato Bay, gazing up at the moonlight"
Under the pure moonlight, the oarsmen call to one another as they row across the calm evening sea. The bustle of a night departure and the quiet sea lit by moonlight are drawn in contrast. The first two lines are the same as in 3599 of this book, where the ship sailed from Kamishima on a moonlit night, so the scene of setting out by night under moonlight recurs in the course of the journey.
According to the headnote, this is one of three poems composed on the night the ship sailed from Nagato Bay, gazing up at the moonlight. Nagato Bay is thought to be the harbor of Kurahashi Island. The author is not named.
First line, "tsukuyomi no": "Tsukuyomi" is the moon god, by extension the moon.
Second line, "hikari o kiyomi": "o ... mi" expresses a cause: because the moonlight is pure. The same first two lines as in 3599 of this book.
Third line, "yūnagi ni": "yūnagi" is the evening calm when the wind dies and the sea grows still, a good time to put out.
Fourth line, "kako no koe yobi": "kako" are the oarsmen, calling to each other to keep the stroke together.
Fifth line, "urami kogu kamo": "urami" is the curve of a bay and "kamo" exclamatory: they row along the bay, the poem ends.
- Source
- Manyoshu
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Waga inochi o Nagato no shima no komatsubara ikuyo o hete ka kamusabiwataru
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Yama no ha ni tsuki katabukeba isari suru ama no tomoshibi oki ni nazusau