Nago no ama no tsuri suru fune wa ima koso ba funadana uchite aete kogideme

奈呉の海人の釣する舟は今こそば
舟棚打ちてあへて漕ぎ出め

Roma-ji: Nago no ama no tsuri suru fune wa ima koso ba funadana uchite aete kogideme
English Translation: The fishers of Nago,
the boats in which they go fishing—
now, now is the time
to beat upon your gunwales
and row boldly out to sea
Meaning: You fishing boats of the Nago fishermen—now is the time to drum on your gunwales and row boldly out to sea!
Commentary: Book Seventeen 3956

Headnote: "A poem from a banquet at the residence of Senior Clerk Hata no Imiki Yachishima"
Boats of the Nago fishermen, now is the time to drum on your gunwales and row out boldly—a poem calling out to the sea. According to the left note, from the guest room of Yachishima's residence one could gaze at the blue sea while seated, and so the host composed this poem. Wishing to show his guests the sea before them, he calls to the boats putting out, enlivening the banquet.
The poet, Hata no Yachishima, was a Senior Clerk (the fourth rank of provincial officials) in Etchū; little else is known of him.
The left note reads, "From the guest room of this residence the blue sea can be seen while seated; so the host Yachishima made this poem."

First line, "Nago no ama no": Nago is the sea near Hōjōzu in present-day Imizu, Toyama; the line is hypermetric (six morae). Poem 4017 of this book sings of the same scene, "the small fishing boats of the Nago fishermen."
Second line, "tsuri suru fune wa": "the boats that fish," addressing the fishermen's boats.
Third line, "ima koso ba": koso is emphatic, bound to me, the realis of the conjectural mu, in the last line.
Fourth line, "funadana uchite": funadana is a plank along the gunwale; drumming on it expresses the vigor of setting out.
Fifth line, "aete kogideme": aete means "boldly"—"row out," an urging.
Author: Hata no Yachishima
Source: Manyoshu
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