Ōki umi no minasoko fukaku omoitsutsu mobiki narashishi Sugawara no sato

大き海の水底深く思ひつつ
裳引き平しし菅原の里

Roma-ji: Ōki umi no minasoko fukaku omoitsutsu mobiki narashishi Sugawara no sato
English Translation: Deep as the sea floor
of the wide and boundless ocean
I loved you and came,
trailing my skirts, wearing smooth
the paths of Sugawara town
Meaning: Loving you as deeply as the bottom of the great sea, I trailed my skirts back and forth until I wore smooth the paths of the village of Sugawara.
Commentary: Book Twenty Miscellaneous Poems 4491

Headnote: none. The left note reads: "The above poem was composed by Ishikawa no Iratsume, wife of Fujiwara no Sukunamaro, in grief and resentment when his love for her waned and he parted from her," and records that the year and month are unknown.
Loving you as deep as the sea floor, I trailed my skirts back and forth and wore smooth the paths of Sugawara: the poem sings of the grief and resentment of a wife forsaken. The left note says Ishikawa no Iratsume, wife of Fujiwara no Sukunamaro, composed it in grief and bitterness when her husband's love cooled and he left her; the date is unknown. Placed among the banquet poems around it, it seems to be an old poem recited at a banquet. Her feelings for the village where she once lived with her husband carry both the depth of her love and the sorrow of its loss.
The author, Ishikawa no Iratsume, was the wife of Fujiwara no Sukunamaro; nothing more is known of her.

The first line, "ōki umi no," "of the great sea," is a figure for depth.
The second line, "minasoko fukaku," "deep as the sea floor": the first two lines form a figure for loving deeply.
The third line, "omoitsutsu," means "loving him all the while."
The fourth line, "mobiki narashishi," "trailing my skirts, I wore the paths smooth," shows the days of coming and going again and again.
The closing line, "Sugawara no sato," names Sugawara in Nara, ending on a noun with the village of her memories.
Author: Lady Ishikawa
Source: Manyoshu
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