Horie ni wa tama shikamashi o ōkimi o mifune kogamu to kanete shiriseba

堀江には玉敷かましを大君を
御船漕がむとかねて知りせば

Roma-ji: Horie ni wa tama shikamashi o ōkimi o mifune kogamu to kanete shiriseba
English Translation: Along the Horie
I would have spread fine jewels,
had I only known
our Sovereign would be rowing
in the royal boat this day.
Meaning: Had I known beforehand that our Sovereign's boat would be rowed along the Horie canal, I would have spread jewels upon it.
Commentary: Book Eighteen 4056

Headnote: "Seven poems from the time when the Retired Sovereign resided at the Naniwa Palace [this is Empress Kiyotarashihime]." "One poem by the Minister of the Left, Tachibana no Sukune."
The poet says that had he known beforehand that his Sovereign would come by boat along the Horie, he would have spread jewels upon the water to welcome her. The Minister of the Left, receiving the Retired Empress, humbly regrets that his welcome was not enough while expressing joy and reverence for her visit.
Tachibana no Moroe was the son of Prince Minu and Agata no Inukai no Michiyo. First called Prince Katsuragi, he later left the imperial family and took the surname Tachibana. At this time he was Minister of the Left and at the center of government.
The Retired Empress Genshō is said to have stayed at the Naniwa Palace in 744. According to the left note, this poem and the next are the Minister's poem and the imperial poem from the day of a banquet when the royal boat went up the Horie. These seven poems are thought to have been recited and passed on by Tanabe no Sakimaro on his visit to Etchū.

First line, "Horie ni wa": the Horie was a canal dug at Naniwa, thought to correspond to the Ōkawa River in central Osaka today.
Second line, "tama shikamashi o": "mashi" is the auxiliary of counterfactual supposition, corresponding with "seba" in the last line: "I would have spread jewels." The imperial poem that follows, 4057, answers this phrase.
Third line, "ōkimi o": the Retired Empress, called "great lord" with reverence.
Fourth line, "mifune kogamu to": rowing and carrying the royal boat.
Last line, "kanete shiriseba": "se" is the irrealis of the past auxiliary "ki," and with "ba" forms the counterfactual "had I known beforehand." Paired with "mashi" in the second line it makes the "seba … mashi" construction, closing the poem in inverted order.
Author: Tachibana no Moroe
Source: Manyoshu
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