Itsushika mo mimu to omoishi Awashima o yoso ni ya koimu yuku yoshi o nami

いつしかも見むと思ひし粟島を
外にや恋ひむ行くよしをなみ

Roma-ji: Itsushika mo mimu to omoishi Awashima o yoso ni ya koimu yuku yoshi o nami
English Translation: When, oh when, I thought,
shall I gaze upon it,
the isle of Awa;
must I long for it from afar,
having no way to go there
Meaning: Awashima, which I had longed to see as soon as I could: must I only yearn for it from afar, since I have no way to go there?
Commentary: Book Fifteen Poems of the Envoys to Silla 3631

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Eight poems composed when passing Marifu Bay in Kuga District, Suō Province"
He laments that he cannot call at Awashima, which he had longed to see as soon as he could, and must yearn for it from afar. The frustration of being unable to approach a famed island right before his eyes is expressed in the language of love poetry. The location of Awashima is disputed and uncertain. Awashima is sung again two poems later, in 3633.
According to the headnote, this is one of eight poems composed when passing Marifu Bay in Kuga District, Suō Province, thought to be the coast of present-day Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture. The author is not named.

First line, "itsushika mo": soon, expressing the longing that asks, when will it be?
Second line, "mimu to omoishi": "shi" is the attributive of the past "ki": which I had thought to see.
Third line, "Awashima o": the location of Awashima is disputed and unsettled. It seems to have drawn travelers' interest as a famed island.
Fourth line, "yoso ni ya koimu": "yoso" means somewhere far off; "ya" is an interrogative binding particle resolved by the attributive "mu": must I long for it from afar? The poem breaks after the fourth line.
Fifth line, "yuku yoshi o nami": "yoshi" is a means, and "o ... mi" expresses a cause: since there is no way to go. It is inverted with the fourth line.
Source: Manyoshu
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