Watatsumi no chiburi no kami ni tamukesuru nusa no oikaze yamazu fukanamu - Tosa Nikki(English Translation & Meaning)

わたつみのちぶりの神にたむけする
ぬさのおひ風やまずふかなむ

Roma-ji: Watatsumi no chiburi no kami ni tamukesuru nusa no oikaze yamazu fukanamu
English Translation: At sea, to the god
who keeps travelers from harm,
we offer up gifts—
may the wind that bears them on
blow behind us without cease
Meaning: O following wind that carries the offerings we make to the god who guards travelers at sea—blow on and never cease.
Commentary: 35 The Twenty-Sixth Day of the First Month: An Offering and a Following Wind

On the twenty-sixth day of the first month, there was a rumor—whether true or not—that pirates were pursuing them, so the party set out around midnight and rowed on. Along the way was a place for making offerings to the gods. When the steersman was made to present the paper offerings, they scattered toward the east, and the steersman made his offering with the prayer, "Let our boat be rowed swiftly in the direction these offerings scatter."
Those who compose poems this day are a young girl attending the party and a person called "the old woman of Awaji." "Tōme" means an old woman, here one from Awaji. This old woman composes a poem again on the sixth day of the second month, while seasick.
Hearing the steersman's prayer as he presented the offerings, the young girl composed this poem.
Afterward the wind turned favorable, and the steersman, very pleased with himself, raised the sail and rejoiced. Hearing the sound, children and old people alike—perhaps because they were all eager to reach the capital—were overjoyed. Among them the old woman of Awaji composed "Oikaze no fukinuru toki wa yuku fune no hote uchite koso ureshikarikere."

The first line, "Watatsumi no," means "of the sea." In the second line, "chiburi no kami" is the god who protects voyages and journeys. The third line, "tamukesuru," means to make offerings to a god and pray.
The fourth line, "nusa no oikaze," means the following wind blowing in the direction the offerings scattered. In the final line, "yamazu fukanamu," "namu" is a particle expressing a wish directed at another: may it blow without ceasing.
Taking up the steersman's prayer that the boat be carried in the direction the offerings scattered, the poem turns it into a wish for a following wind. Though composed by a little girl, it is a prayer poem well suited to the scene.
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Tosa Nikki
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