Harubaru to kumoi o sashite yuku fune no yukusue tōku omōyuru kana - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

はるばると雲居をさして行く舟の
行く末遠く思ほゆるかな

Roma-ji: Harubaru to kumoi o sashite yuku fune no yukusue tōku omōyuru kana
English Translation: Far and far away,
heading for the clouds of heaven,
like a boat that goes,
so the future, I would think,
stretches long and far ahead.
Meaning: Like a boat that sails on and on toward the far edge of the sky, your future seems to stretch away, long and distant.
Commentary: Book Eighteen Miscellaneous Congratulatory Poems 1160

Headnote: "On a screen"
The poet says that, like a boat sailing on and on toward the far edge of the sky, the future seems to stretch long and distant. The headnote shows it was written for a screen painting. Laying the long future of the one being celebrated over the image of a boat dwindling toward the sky at the sea's end, it celebrates a boundless time to come. Following the "hundred years" of the preceding poem, 1159, it is another congratulatory poem praising a long span of time.
The author, Ise, was a daughter of Fujiwara no Tsugukage, Governor of Ise, and served Onshi, empress of Emperor Uda. She is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets and is known for her poem "Naniwagata" in the Hyakunin Isshu.

First line, "harubaru to," means "far and far away," speaking of the long course the boat travels.
Second line, "kumoi o sashite," means "heading for the far sky," with "kumoi" the distant sky where the clouds are. It is a boat heading for the place where sea meets sky. "Sashite" means "heading for," and through its link with the boat, the sense of plying a pole also echoes in it.
Third line, "yuku fune no," means "like a boat that goes," and up to here the lines act as a preface leading to "yukusue" in the fourth line.
Fourth line, "yukusue tōku," means "the future far ahead," layering the distance of the boat's destination with the length of a person's future. It repeats "yuku" from the third line to set the rhythm. It shares the celebration of long time with the third line of the preceding poem, 1159, "momotose no."
Final line, "omōyuru kana," means "so it seems to me," with "omōyu" meaning to come naturally to mind and "kana" exclamatory.
Author: Ise
Source: Shui Wakashu
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