Nami ni nomi nuretsuru mono o fuku kaze no tayori ureshiki ama no tsuribune - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

波にのみ濡れつるものを吹く風の
たよりうれしき海人の釣舟

Roma-ji: Nami ni nomi nuretsuru mono o fuku kaze no tayori ureshiki ama no tsuribune
English Translation: Wet with waves alone
I have been, yet now how glad
for the blowing wind
that brings a chance at last—
the fisherman's small boat
Meaning: Though drenched only by the waves till now, how glad is the fisherman's little boat of the chance the blowing wind has brought it.
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Poems III 1224

Headnote: "The woman he lived with, who served at court, came to Tsurayuki's house in the same carriage with a woman who was her friend; while Tsurayuki's wife had stepped down to entertain her guest, he, having set his heart on the friend, secretly slipped this into the carriage."
The poet says that the fisherman's boat, which had only been drenched by the waves, rejoices in the chance the wind brings. Likening this opportunity to approach the woman he longs for to a wind that carries a boat to shore, he expresses the joy of one who has been wet with tears.
According to the headnote, Tsurayuki's wife, a woman in court service, came to his house in the same carriage with a friend. While his wife had stepped down to entertain her guest, Tsurayuki, who had set his heart on the friend, secretly slipped a poem into the carriage.
The poet, "Tsurayuki," is Ki no Tsurayuki. A son of Ki no Mochiyuki, he was the chief compiler of the Kokinshu and wrote its Japanese preface. He is also known as the author of the Tosa Diary, and the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu includes his poem "Hito wa isa kokoro mo shirazu furusato wa."

The first line, "Nami ni nomi," means "by the waves alone," a figure for tears. Like 1210 and 1212 of this book, it brings in the waves.
The second line, "nuretsuru mono o," means "I was drenched, and yet," with "mono o" concessive.
The third line, "fuku kaze no," means "of the blowing wind."
The fourth line, "tayori ureshiki," means "glad of the chance," overlaying the wind carrying the boat with a happy opportunity to approach the woman.
The last line, "ama no tsuribune," means "the fisherman's boat," ending on a noun. He likens himself to a little boat among the waves.
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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