Watatsumi wa ama no fune koso ari to kike nori tagaete mo kogiidetaru kana - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

わたつ海はあまの舟こそありと聞け
のりたがへても漕ぎ出でたるかな

Roma-ji: Watatsumi wa ama no fune koso ari to kike nori tagaete mo kogiidetaru kana
English Translation: Upon the great sea,
they say, there are boats of nuns,
the boats of fisher folk;
mistaking both the Law and ship,
this monk has rowed out to sea!
Meaning: On the great sea, they say, there are fisherfolk's boats, and nuns' boats, but this monk, mistaking both the Buddhist Law and the boat he should board, has rowed out to sea!
Commentary: Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems II 530

Headnote: "For a screen painting of a monk rowing out in a boat"
The poet says that though one hears of fisherfolk's boats and nuns' boats on the great sea, this monk has mistaken the Law and mistaken his boat and rowed out. The headnote shows it was written for a screen painting of a monk setting out in a boat. Pivoting on "ama," fisherfolk and nun, and "nori," boarding and the Law, it lightly turns the oddity of a monk rather than a nun rowing out to sea into verbal play.
The author, the Mother of Michitsuna the Major Captain of the Right, is the Mother of Fujiwara no Michitsuna. A daughter of Fujiwara no Tomoyasu, she became the wife of Fujiwara no Kaneie and bore Michitsuna. She wrote the Kagerō Diary and is known for her poem "nagekitsutsu" in the Hyakunin Isshu.

First line, "watatsumi wa," means "upon the great sea."
Second line, "ama no fune koso," is a pivot word: "ama" means fisherfolk and also a nun. The binding particle "koso" is resolved by the perfective form "kike" in the third line.
Third line, "ari to kike," means "I hear there are, yet," running on into the lower verse with the concessive force of "koso" and the perfective form.
Fourth line, "nori tagaete mo," is a pivot word: "nori" means "boarding" a boat and the "Law" of the Buddha. It layers mistaking the boat with mistaking the Law.
Final line, "kogiidetaru kana," means "has rowed out," with "taru" an auxiliary of continuing state and "kana" exclamatory.
Author: The Mother of Fujiwara no Michitsuna
Source: Shui Wakashu
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