Okitsutori kamo tō fune no kaeri koba Yara no sakimori hayaku tsugekoso

沖つ鳥鴨とふ船の帰り来ば
也良の崎守早く告げこそ

Roma-ji: Okitsutori kamo tō fune no kaeri koba Yara no sakimori hayaku tsugekoso
English Translation: Should the Kamo boat,
named for the wild duck offshore,
come sailing home,
O guard of Cape Yara,
send me word at once!
Meaning: If the boat called Kamo, the wild duck of the open sea, should come home, O watchman of Cape Yara, tell me at once!
Commentary: Book Sixteen Poems with Tales of Origin and Miscellaneous Poems 3866

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Ten poems on the fisherman of Shika in Chikuzen."
The wife asks the watchman at Cape Yara to tell her at once if the boat named Kamo, which Arao sailed, comes back. Knowing he will not return, she still longs for the boat, a poignant hope.
According to the left note, in the Jinki era the Dazaifu appointed Munakatabe no Tsumaro of Munakata District in Chikuzen as helmsman of a ship carrying provisions to Tsushima. Too old to bear the sea, Tsumaro asked Arao, a fisherman of Shika village, to take his place, and Arao, bound by a friendship deeper than brotherhood, gladly agreed. He set sail for Tsushima from Cape Mineraku at Matsura in Hizen, but the sky suddenly darkened, a storm of wind and rain arose, and he sank beneath the sea. Some say his wife and children, unable to bear their longing, made these poems; others that Yamanoue no Okura, Governor of Chikuzen, made them in sympathy with their grief.
The poet, according to one account in the left note, is Yamanoue no Okura, who went to Tang China with an embassy and served as Governor of Chikuzen. He is known for poems on life's hardships and family affection. The poems speak in the voice of Arao's wife and children.

First line, "okitsutori," is a pillow word for kamo, "wild duck." The next poem, 3867, opens the same way, and the two form a pair.
Second line, "kamo tō fune no," means "the boat called Kamo," said to be the name of Arao's boat.
Third line, "kaeri koba," means "if it comes back."
Fourth line, "Yara no sakimori," means "watchman of Cape Yara," a cape thought to be the northern tip of Nokonoshima in Hakata Bay.
Final line, "hayaku tsugekoso," means "tell me quickly." Koso is a final particle of wish, pairing with "kikoe konu kamo" in the next poem.
Author: Yamanoue no Okura (attributed)
Source: Manyoshu
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