Nani sen ni heta no mirume o omoiken okitsu tamamo o kazuku mi ni shite - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

何せんにへたのみるめを思ひけん
沖つ玉藻をかづく身にして

Roma-ji: Nani sen ni heta no mirume o omoiken okitsu tamamo o kazuku mi ni shite
English Translation: For what purpose
did I long for the seaweed
by the shore, my Miru,
when I am one who dives
for jewel weed far out at sea
Meaning: Why ever did I long for the seaweed by the shore—for Miru—when I am one who dives for, and is given, the jewel weed of the open sea?
Commentary: Book Fifteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1099

Headnote: "Among the servants of someone who held a purification at Karasaki in Shiga was one called Miru. Ōtomo no Kuronushi came there and, taken with Miru, flirted with her. When the rite was over, a gift was bestowed on Kuronushi from the carriage, and he wrote this on the waist of it and sent it to Miru."
The poet asks why he ever longed for the mirume seaweed by the shore when he is one who dives for the jewel weed of the open sea. With "mirume" meaning both the seaweed and the servant Miru, he likens the gift he received from her mistress to the jewel weed won by a diver, and playfully takes back his flirtation.
According to the headnote, among the servants of someone who held a purification at Karasaki in Shiga was a woman called Miru; Ōtomo no Kuronushi came and flirted with her. When the rite was over a gift was bestowed on him from the carriage, and he wrote this on the waist of it and sent it to Miru.
The poet, "Kuronushi," is Ōtomo no Kuronushi. Said to have been from Shiga District in Ōmi, he is counted among the Six Poetic Immortals.

The first line, "Nani sen ni," means "for what," questioning his own feelings.
The second line, "heta no mirume o," means "the mirume seaweed by the shore," with "heta" the seashore and "mirume" joining the seaweed and the servant's name, Miru.
The third line, "omoiken," means "did I long for," with "ken" conjecture about a past cause. It answers "nani sen ni" in the first line, and the poem pauses here.
The fourth line, "okitsu tamamo o," means "the jewel weed of the open sea," a figure for the gift bestowed by the mistress.
The last line, "kazuku mi ni shite," means "being one who dives," with "kazuku" joining a diver's plunging into the sea and receiving a gift draped over one's shoulders.
Author: Ōtomo no Kuronushi
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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