Fuse no umi no okitsu shiranami arigayoi iya toshi no ha ni mitsutsu shinowamu

布勢の海の沖つ白波あり通ひ
いや年のはに見つつ偲はむ

Roma-ji: Fuse no umi no okitsu shiranami arigayoi iya toshi no ha ni mitsutsu shinowamu
English Translation: On the sea of Fuse
the white waves out on the deep—
ever coming back,
year after year after year,
I shall look on them in praise
Meaning: The white waves out on the Fuse lagoon—I shall keep coming back, year after year, to gaze on them in admiration.
Commentary: Book Seventeen 3992

Headnote: "Envoy to a rhapsody, with tanka, on an outing to the Fuse lagoon (this lagoon is at Furue Village in Imizu District)"
He will keep coming year after year to gaze in admiration on the white waves of the Fuse sea—a poem in praise of the Fuse lagoon. It is the envoy to a chōka on an outing to the Fuse lagoon, composed by Yakamochi on the twenty-fourth day of the fourth month of 747 before going up to the capital, and is one of the Three Rhapsodies of Etchū. The chōka tells how like-minded friends, to refresh their hearts, rode side by side past Cape Shibutani, the long beach of Matsudae and the Unahi River, launched boats on the Fuse sea, watched teal clamoring on the shore and flowers blooming on the treetops of the islands, and vowed that, never parting like the ivy creeping on Mount Futagami, they would make merry so every year.
The poet, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, was the son of the Major Counselor Ōtomo no Tabito. Appointed Governor of Etchū in 746, he spent five years there, later serving as Junior Counselor and Governor of Inaba before rising to Middle Counselor. He is thought to have played a central role in compiling the Man'yōshū.
The left note reads, "The above was composed by Governor Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi (twenty-fourth day of the fourth month)."

First line, "Fuse no umi no": the Fuse lagoon was a lagoon in Imizu District, its remnant thought to be near Jūnichō-gata in present-day Himi, Toyama. The line is hypermetric (six morae).
Second line, "okitsu shiranami": white waves on the open water, the same as the second line of 3989 of this book.
Third line, "arigayoi": "keep coming," taken directly from "arigayoi iya toshi no ha ni" in the chōka. The same word appears in "arigayoi mimu" in 4002.
Fourth line, "iya toshi no ha ni": "year after year."
Fifth line, "mitsutsu shinowamu": shinou means to admire and cherish—"I shall gaze and admire," closing in praise of the land. Ikenushi's envoy in reply, 3994, answers this line with "I shall keep coming to see."
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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