Shioji kara tada koekureba Hakui no umi asanagi shitari funakaji mo gamo

志雄路から直越え来れば羽咋の海
朝なぎしたり船楫もがも

Roma-ji: Shioji kara tada koekureba Hakui no umi asanagi shitari funakaji mo gamo
English Translation: From the Shio road
straight across I came, and here
the sea of Hakui
lies in the calm of morning—
if only I had a boat and oars
Meaning: Coming straight over the hills by the road from Shio, I find the sea of Hakui lying in the morning calm—oh, for a boat and oars!
Commentary: Book Seventeen 4025

Headnote: "A poem composed when going along the coast on my way to worship at the Keta Shrine"
Crossing straight over by the Shio road, he finds the sea of Hakui calm in the morning and wishes for a boat and oars—a poem on the sea of Noto. This is one of the poems Yakamochi composed in the spring of 748 on what he saw at each time and place while touring the districts of Etchū to administer suiko, the system of lending seed rice in spring to be repaid with interest after the autumn harvest, for which provincial governors traveled through their territory. On the way to worship at the Keta Shrine, chief shrine of Noto, it expresses his delight at the peaceful morning sea opening before him after crossing the pass.
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.
At the time the province of Etchū also governed the four districts of Noto, and Yakamochi's tour extended to the Noto Peninsula.

First line, "Shioji kara": Shio is a place in Noto, thought to be near present-day Hōdatsushimizu, Ishikawa; kara marks the route—"by the road of Shio."
Second line, "tada koekureba": "coming straight over the hills."
Third line, "Hakui no umi": the sea of Hakui, where the Keta Shrine stands; the line is hypermetric (six morae).
Fourth line, "asanagi shitari": "the sea lies in the morning calm"; the poem pauses here.
Fifth line, "funakaji mo gamo": mogamo is a particle of wishing—"if only I had a boat and oars," longing to row out on the calm sea.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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