also: うなはら
A somewhat literary or poetic word for the vast open sea, often evoking a sense of boundlessness. In modern usage it appears in elevated descriptions, literature, and set phrases.
The ship sailed across the vast ocean.
I gazed at the sea stretching to the horizon.
the vast ocean; the great deep
the blue sea; the vast blue ocean
Standard kanji spelling; the reading うなばら is the modern standard.
Obsolete kana usage; the same kanji form was historically read うなはら.
Compound of 海 (う, 'sea') + 原 (はら, 'plain, field'), with the reading うなばら arising from rendaku voicing of はら to ばら. The older reading うなはら preserves the unvoiced form.