Ima kawaru niisakimori ga funade suru unahara no ue ni nami na saki so ne

今替る新防人が船出する
海原の上に波なさきそね

Roma-ji: Ima kawaru niisakimori ga funade suru unahara no ue ni nami na saki so ne
English Translation: Taking up their posts,
the new frontier guards set sail;
on the broad sea plain
where they put out in their boats,
waves, do not break into bloom
Meaning: Over the sea where the new guards now taking their turn set sail, O waves, please do not rise up.
Commentary: Book Twenty Frontier Guard Poems 4335

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Poems of the frontier guards sent in rotation to the provinces of Tsukushi in the second month of Tenpyō Shōhō 7, year of the wood sheep."
Over the sea where the new guards now taking their turn set sail, O waves, do not rise: a prayer for a safe voyage. The left note says it is the second of three poems Ōtomo no Yakamochi composed on the ninth day of the second month. From his position as the junior assistant minister inspecting the guards, it becomes a prayer to the sea for the safety of those departing.
The author, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, son of Ōtomo no Tabito, was at this time Junior Assistant Minister of Military Affairs.

The first line, "ima kawaru," "now relieving," corresponds to "in rotation" in the headnote.
The second line, "niisakimori ga," refers to the guards newly bound for Tsukushi.
The third line, "funade suru," means sailing out from Naniwa.
The fourth line, "unahara no ue ni," takes up "unahara o," the first line of the preceding poem, setting the scene on the same sea.
The closing line, "nami na saki so ne," uses na...so for prohibition and ne for wishing, ending with the plea that the waves not break white like blossoms.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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