Watatsumi ni nagare idetaru Shikamagawa shika mo taezu ya koiwatarinamu

わたつみに流れ出でたる飾磨川
しかも絶えずや恋ひ渡りなむ

Roma-ji: Watatsumi ni nagare idetaru Shikamagawa shika mo taezu ya koiwatarinamu
English Translation: Like Shikama River
that flows out at last
into the great sea,
so too unceasing, shall I
go on longing evermore?
Meaning: Like the Shikama River that flows ceaselessly out into the great sea, shall I too go on longing without end?
Commentary: Love Poems 481

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Composed on the theme of love at famous places"
Like the Shikama River in Harima flowing ceaselessly into the great sea, the poet wonders whether he will go on longing without end. From the place name Shikama he draws the homophonous shika mo, "so too."

Line 1 means "into the great sea."
Line 2 means "flowing out."
Line 3 names the Shikama River in Harima, whose sound leads to shika mo; after the Notose River of the preceding poem, another river is named.
Line 4 means "so too unceasing," ya binding namu in line 5; it uses the same word taezu as the preceding poem.
Line 5 means "shall I go on longing," the same last line as 419.
Author: Minamoto no Sanetomo
Source: Kinkaishu
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