MYS I: 8

熟田津尓 船乗世武登 月待者 潮毛可奈比沼 今者許藝乞菜

熟田津に船乗りせむと月待てば潮もかなひぬ今は漕ぎ出でな

nigitatu ni
puna norisemu to
tuki mateba
sipo mo kanapinu
ima pa kogi’ide na
From Nigitatsu
Would we set sail, and
Did await the moon, but
With the tides against us
Now must we go a’rowing!

Princess Nukata
額田王

3 thoughts on “MYS I: 8”

  1. The romaji reading seems wrong unless they read it really strangely back then:

    nigitatsu ni
    funa nori semu to
    tsuki mateba
    shio mo kanainu
    ima wa kogi ide na

    1. Yes, the transcription here is an approximation of how the poem would have been read in old Japanese. If I was being strictly accurate, I’d also need to indicate vowel differences as there were more vowels in the language then, too.

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