Suzu no umi ni asabiraki shite kogikureba Nagahama no ura ni tsuki terinikeri

珠洲の海に朝開きして漕ぎ来れば
長浜の浦に月照りにけり

Roma-ji: Suzu no umi ni asabiraki shite kogikureba Nagahama no ura ni tsuki terinikeri
English Translation: On the sea of Suzu
in the morning we set sail,
and rowing all day,
in the bay of Nagahama
we find the moon shining down
Meaning: Setting sail at dawn on the sea of Suzu and rowing all day, we reach the bay of Nagahama to find the moon shining.
Commentary: Book Seventeen 4029

Headnote: "A poem composed when setting out by boat from Suzu District to return to Tanu District, mooring at the bay of Nagahama and gazing up at the moonlight"
Setting sail at dawn on the sea of Suzu and rowing on, he finds the moon already shining over the bay of Nagahama—a poem of feeling at the end of a day's voyage. 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. It was composed while returning by boat from Suzu at the tip of the Noto Peninsula, mooring at Nagahama bay and looking up at the moon, gathering into one poem the long voyage from the morning departure to the moon at night. Tanu District in the headnote is not a district of Etchū, and some take it as an error for Imizu District, where the provincial office stood.
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 poems were composed by Ōtomo no Sukune Yakamochi on what met his eye at each time and place while touring the districts for the spring rice loans."

First line, "Suzu no umi ni": the sea of Suzu District at the tip of the Noto Peninsula; the line is hypermetric (six morae).
Second line, "asabiraki shite": "setting sail in the morning."
Third line, "kogikureba": "as we came rowing," a fulfilled condition with ba after the realis.
Fourth line, "Nagahama no ura ni": the bay of Nagahama, a hypermetric line of eight morae. Its location is disputed.
Fifth line, "tsuki terinikeri": "the moon is shining," an exclamation of realization. Contrasting the morning of the first lines with the moonlit night of the last, it conveys the length of the day's voyage. Just as 3893 near the start of the book captured a sea journey in "yesterday" and "today," it makes the distance traveled felt through the passing of time.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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