Okibe yori michi kuru shio no iyamashi ni aga mou kimi ga mifune kamo kare

沖辺より満ち来る潮のいや増しに
我が思ふ君が御船かもかれ

Roma-ji: Okibe yori michi kuru shio no iyamashi ni aga mou kimi ga mifune kamo kare
English Translation: Like the tide that swells
flowing in from the open sea,
ever deepening—
is that your honored boat out there,
you for whom I care so much?
Meaning: Is that out there your boat, you whom I hold ever more dear, like the tide that swells in from the open sea?
Commentary: Book Eighteen 4045

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On the twenty-fifth, two poems recited on horseback on the way to the lagoon of Fuse."
Spotting a boat on the sea, the poet asks whether that might be the boat of the one he holds ever dearer, like the tide that swells in from offshore. The prevailing view is that "kimi" refers to the guest Sakimaro, who had gone ahead by boat, so the poem expresses the host's thoughts for his guest on the way to the outing.
Ōtomo no Yakamochi was the son of Ōtomo no Tabito, and from 746 he served as governor of Etchū. He is believed to have played a central role in compiling the Man'yōshū, and this book has the character of a poetic diary of his years in Etchū. The headnote and left note do not name the author, but from the arrangement the poem is attributed to Yakamochi.

First line, "okibe yori": taking up "umibe yori" from the preceding poem, it points farther out to the open sea. The gaze moves outward from beach to seashore to offing.
Second line, "michi kuru shio no": the lines so far form a preface; the rising tide leads into "iyamashi ni" in the third line.
Third line, "iyamashi ni": "ever more," describing feelings that deepen. In 4093 we also find "yosuru shiranami iyamashi ni," and the book shows this way of laying a swelling heart over swelling waves and tides.
Fourth line, "aga mou kimi ga": "aga mou" modifies "kimi," "you whom I love."
Last line, "mifune kamo kare": "kamo" is an exclamation with a question, and "kare" means "that one." Breaking at "mifune kamo" and adding "kare" in inverted order gives the immediacy of pointing at a distant boat.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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