Isona tsumu ama no saotome kokoro seyo oki fuku kaze ni nami takaku naru

磯菜摘む海人のさをとめ心せよ
沖吹く風に波高くなる

Roma-ji: Isona tsumu ama no saotome kokoro seyo oki fuku kaze ni nami takaku naru
English Translation: Little fisher girl
gathering seaweed on the rocks,
take care, be careful—
for the wind from offshore blows,
and the waves are rising high.
Meaning: Little fisher girl gathering seaweed on the rocks, be careful—the wind is blowing in from the open sea, and the waves are rising high.
Commentary: Miscellaneous Poems 1165

Headnote: "When people composed poems on a painted screen, on the scene at the water's edge where there were young children of humble birth"
When the company composed poems on a painted screen, Saigyō wrote on a scene of humble young children at the seashore. Little fisher girl gathering seaweed, take care, he calls; the wind from the open sea is raising the waves.
Speaking directly to the girl in the painting, the poem gives a still scene the movement of wind and waves and the flow of time. A warm concern for the young one can be felt. It forms a pair with the next poem on the same screen.

First line, “isona tsumu”: gathering seaweed on the rocky shore.
Second line, “ama no saotome”: saotome is a young girl.
Third line, “kokoro seyo”: take care, an imperative breaking after the third line.
Fourth line, “oki fuku kaze ni”: by the wind blowing from the offing.
Fifth line, “nami takaku naru”: the waves grow high, the reason for the warning.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
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