Shirotae no namiji o tōku yukikaite ware ni nibeki wa tare naranaku ni - Tosa Nikki(English Translation & Meaning)

しろたへの浪路を遠くゆきかひて
我に似べきはたれならなくに

Roma-ji: Shirotae no namiji o tōku yukikaite ware ni nibeki wa tare naranaku ni
English Translation: Over the white waves
traveling the far sea-roads
to and fro again,
who will come to share my lot
if not you, and none other?
Meaning: Traveling to and fro along the far sea-roads of white-crested waves—who is it that will one day share my lot, if not you yourself?
Commentary: 6 The Twenty-Sixth Day of the Twelfth Month: A Farewell Banquet at the New Governor's Residence

Having left the governor's residence on the twenty-first day of the twelfth month, the party was invited to farewell feasts almost every day. On the twenty-fifth, a letter arrived from the residence of the new governor summoning them, and they spent the whole day and night in merrymaking. On the twenty-sixth they were still being entertained there, and gifts were handed out even to the attendants. Chinese verses were chanted aloud, and host, guests and others alike exchanged Japanese poems.
The "governor who is host" is the man newly appointed as Governor of Tosa and the master of this residence. The "former governor" is the outgoing Governor of Tosa returning to the capital, said to be the author Ki no Tsurayuki himself. Tsurayuki was appointed Governor of Tosa in 930 and set out for the capital at the end of 934, his term complete.
This poem is the former governor's reply to the new governor's "Miyako idete kimi ni awamu to koshi mono o koshi kai mo naku wakarenuru kana."
After this exchange, others composed poems as well, but none were of particular note. Before long the new and former governors stepped down into the garden together, clasped hands, and parted in high spirits, trading the cheerful words of men in their cups. The next day, the twenty-seventh, the party would row out from Ōtsu toward Urado.

The first line, "shirotae no," is a word for pure white, here describing the sea-road where white waves rise. The second line means "along the distant sea-road." The third, "yukikaite," means traveling back and forth between the capital and the province: coming down from the capital and, when the term is over, returning there once more.
The fourth line, "ware ni nibeki wa," means "the one who is bound to share my lot," with "beki" the attributive form of the auxiliary "beshi," expressing what must naturally come to pass. In the final line, "tare naranaku ni," "nara" is the irrealis form of the copula "nari," "naku" is a nominalized form of the negative "zu," and "ni" is a conjunctive particle tinged with feeling: it is no one else but you.
Taking up the new governor's lament, "koshi kai mo naku wakarenuru kana," the reply does not dwell on the sorrow of parting. Instead it tells him that he too, once his term is done, will travel the long sea-road home just as the speaker does now. Answering his "koshi" (I came) with "yukikaite" (going and returning), it offers comfort while calling to mind the cycle of a governor's term, a reply with an easy grace.
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Tosa Nikki
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