物部の臣の壮士は大君の
任けのまにまに聞くといふものぞ
任けのまにまに聞くといふものぞ
- Roma-ji
-
Mononofu no omi no otoko wa ōkimi no make no manimani kiku to iu mono zo
- English Translation
-
Warriors of the court,
the men who serve as retainers,
our great sovereign's
appointments, whatever they be,
must heed and obey, they say.
- Meaning
- A man who serves at court, they say, must follow wherever our sovereign's appointment sends him.
- Commentary
-
Book Three Miscellaneous Poems 369
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem by Master Isonokami" — "A poem in reply"
This answers the preceding poem by Master Isonokami. To one lamenting the hardships of travel, it offers encouragement: a man serving the court must go wherever the Emperor appoints him. Taking up "command I revere" from the preceding poem, it replies by setting forth the proper spirit of a retainer. A left note says the author is unknown but that the poem appears among the poems of Kasa no Ason Kanamura, so the author cannot be fixed.
First line "Warriors of the court": mononofu are officials serving the court.
Second line "the men who serve as retainers" means men who are subjects of the sovereign.
Third line "our great sovereign's" refers to the Emperor, answering with the same words as the preceding poem's third line.
Fourth line "appointments, whatever they be": make is appointment or dispatch, and manimani means "just as."
Fifth line "must heed and obey, they say": kiku means to heed and obey, ending in encouragement.
- Source
- Manyoshu
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Ōbune ni makaji shiji nuki ōkimi no mikoto kashikomi isomi suru kamo
- Next Poem
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Ame furazu tonogumoru yo no nurunuru to koitsutsu oriki kimi machigateri