Fuse no ura o yukite shi miteba momoshiki no ōmiyabito ni katari tsugitemu

布勢の浦を行きてし見てばももしきの
大宮人に語り継ぎてむ

Roma-ji: Fuse no ura o yukite shi miteba momoshiki no ōmiyabito ni katari tsugitemu
English Translation: If I go and see
the bay of Fuse with my eyes,
to the many-stoned
palace courtiers at home
I will tell of it, and pass it on.
Meaning: Once I have gone and seen Fuse Bay, I will tell of it to the courtiers of the great palace and hand the tale down.
Commentary: Book Eighteen 4040

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "At that time it was agreed to go sightseeing on the lagoon of Fuse the next day, and so each expressed his feelings in a poem."
The poet says that once he has truly seen Fuse Bay, he will tell of it to the courtiers in the capital. As an envoy from the capital, he takes upon himself the role of bringing word of a provincial landmark to the court, thereby praising the land of Etchū and its governor, Yakamochi.
Tanabe no Sakimaro was a clerk in the Office of Sake Brewing who came to Etchū as the messenger of the Minister of the Left, Tachibana no Moroe. He was a poet of the late Man'yō period, skilled at long poems in praise of the court.

First line, "Fuse no ura o": like the preceding poem it begins with Fuse Bay, carrying on the theme of the sequence.
Second line, "yukite shi miteba": "shi" is an emphatic particle, and "te," the irrealis of the perfective auxiliary, combines with "ba" to express the condition "if I actually go and see it."
Third line, "momoshiki no": a pillow word for "ōmiya," the great palace.
Fourth line, "ōmiyabito ni": the people who serve at court. The poet imagines himself telling the people of the capital.
Last line, "katari tsugitemu": "te" is emphatic and "mu" an auxiliary of intention, expressing a firm resolve to pass the story on. Following "mizu wa noboraji" in the preceding poem, the sequence completes its course: he will see the bay first and then go up to the capital.
Author: Tanabe no Sakimaro
Source: Manyoshu
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