Nubatama no yo akashi mo fune wa kogiyukana Mitsu no hamamatsu machikoinuramu

ぬばたまの夜明かしも船は漕ぎ行かな
御津の浜松待ち恋ひぬらむ

Roma-ji: Nubatama no yo akashi mo fune wa kogiyukana Mitsu no hamamatsu machikoinuramu
English Translation: Through the jet-black night
even till the dawn
let us row the ship on;
the pines along Mitsu's shore
must be waiting, longing for us
Meaning: Let us row the ship on even through the dark night until dawn, for the pines along the shore of Mitsu must be waiting and longing for us.
Commentary: Book Fifteen Poems of the Envoys to Silla 3721

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Five poems composed on returning by way of Tsukushi and reaching Ieshima in Harima Province, on the sea route back to the capital"
He sings: let us row the ship on even through the night, for the pines on the shore of Mitsu must be waiting and longing for us. Personifying the shore pines of Mitsu at Naniwa, from which they had sailed, he overlays on the "matsu" (pine) the figure of those "matsu" (waiting) for their return. The eagerness to return home without a moment's delay, now that home is near, shows in the resolve to row on through the night.
According to the headnote, this is one of five poems composed on the way back from Silla, when the travelers came round by Tsukushi on the sea route to the capital and reached Ieshima in Harima Province. Ieshima is the present-day Ieshima Islands of Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture. The embassy returned to the capital after the new year, in the ninth year of Tenpyō, but the ambassador Abe no Tsugumaro had died on Tsushima on the way back, and the vice-ambassador Ōtomo no Minaka's return was delayed by illness. The author of this poem is not named.

First line, "nubatama no": the black seed of the blackberry lily; from its blackness a pillow word for "night."
Second line, "yo akashi mo fune wa": even if it takes all night, the ship; an eight-syllable hypermetric line.
Third line, "kogiyukana": "na" is a final particle of one's own intention: let us row on. The poem breaks after the third line.
Fourth line, "Mitsu no hamamatsu": the pines on the shore of Mitsu at Naniwa, the "matsu" (pine) echoing "machi" (waiting) in the last line. It was the place of departure, also sung in 3593 of this book.
Fifth line, "machikoinuramu": "ramu" conjectures a present matter out of sight: they must be waiting and longing, the poem ends, giving the reason for the resolve in the third line.
Source: Manyoshu
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