Tarashihime mifune hatekemu Matsura no umi imo ga matsubeki tsuki wa henitsutsu

足日女御船泊てけむ松浦の海
妹が待つべき月は経につつ

Roma-ji: Tarashihime mifune hatekemu Matsura no umi imo ga matsubeki tsuki wa henitsutsu
English Translation: Where once, they say,
Tarashihime moored her ship,
the sea of Matsura;
the month my love waits for me
keeps on slipping by
Meaning: At the sea of Matsura, where they say Tarashihime once moored her royal ship, the month in which my wife must be waiting for me keeps slipping by.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Poems of the Envoys to Silla 3685

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Seven poems composed on the night the ship anchored at Komashima Lodge in Matsura District, Hizen Province, each man gazing far over the waves and grieving in his traveling heart"
He laments that at the sea of Matsura, where Tarashihime is said to have moored her ship, the month in which his wife must be waiting for him slips by in vain. Tarashihime is Empress Jingū, and legends that she crossed to Silla were handed down in Matsura, making it a place of venerable associations for the embassy likewise bound for Silla. Echoing "matsu" (wait) in the "Matsu" of Matsura, he moves from the name of the legendary place to his waiting wife. The last line is the same as that of 3663 of this book.
According to the headnote, this is one of seven poems composed on the night the ship anchored at Komashima Lodge in Matsura District, Hizen Province, each gazing far over the waves and expressing the grief of travel. Komashima is thought to be Kashiwajima Island in present-day Karatsu, Saga Prefecture, a harbor before the crossing to Iki. This poem has no left note, and the author is not named.

First line, "Tarashihime": Okinaga Tarashihime, that is, Empress Jingū, known from the legend that she crossed to Silla.
Second line, "mifune hatekemu": "hatsu" means a ship coming into port and anchoring, and "kemu" past hearsay conjecture: where, they say, her ship anchored.
Third line, "Matsura no umi": the sea of Matsura District in Hizen, the sound "matsu" echoing "matsu" (wait) in the fourth line. A six-syllable hypermetric line.
Fourth line, "imo ga matsubeki": "beki" expresses what is expected: in which my wife must be waiting.
Fifth line, "tsuki wa henitsutsu": the months keep passing on, the same last line as in 3663 of this book. Trailing off, it leaves the lament lingering.
Source: Manyoshu
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