Ashihiki no yama ni mo no ni mo mikaribito satsuya tabasami sawakite ari miyu

あしひきの山にも野にも御狩人
さつ矢手挟み騒きてあり見ゆ

Roma-ji: Ashihiki no yama ni mo no ni mo mikaribito satsuya tabasami sawakite ari miyu
English Translation: Foot-wearying—
on the mountains, in the fields,
the royal huntsmen,
hunting arrows in their hands,
bustling about can be seen
Meaning: On the mountains and in the fields alike, the royal huntsmen can be seen bustling about, hunting arrows clasped in their hands.
Commentary: Book Six Miscellaneous Poems 927

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "One envoy"
This poem describes how, on the mountains and in the fields alike, the men accompanying the imperial hunt can be seen bustling about with hunting arrows clasped in their hands. By portraying the vigour of the hunters, it praises the grandeur of the sovereign's hunt.
The long poem immediately before (926) is the second of "Two poems composed by Yamabe no Sukune Akahito." It portrays the sovereign's hunt on the fields of Akizu in fair Yoshino, rousing beasts in the morning and birds in the evening, and ends: "with horses side by side he sets out on the royal hunt in the lush spring fields." This envoy takes in the whole scene at a single glance.
The left note reads: "The order of the above is uncertain, but for convenience it is placed next." It is the compiler's remark that it is unclear whether this long poem and envoy were composed before or after the earlier long poem (923), and that they are placed here for convenience.
The poet, Yamabe no Akahito, was a court poet of the early Nara period who accompanied imperial progresses, chiefly in the reign of Emperor Shōmu, and left many poems. His rank and career are unknown, but he excelled in lucid poems of landscape, and the Japanese preface to the Kokin Wakashū names him alongside Kakinomoto no Hitomaro.

The words "bustling about can be seen" in the lower verse share the verb "sawaku" with 924 in this book, "how many voices clamour," so that the Yoshino palace poems run on from the bustle of birdsong to the bustle of the hunters.
The first line, "Foot-wearying," is a pillow word that modifies "mountain."
The second line, "on the mountains, in the fields," repeats the particle "mo" to show the breadth of the hunting grounds. It takes up "the hills" and "the fields of Akizu" in the long poem.
The third line, "the royal huntsmen," means the men who attend the sovereign's hunt, the prefix "mi-" showing respect for the imperial hunt.
The fourth line, "hunting arrows in their hands," means holding their hunting arrows clasped in hand, giving a concrete picture of the men setting out on the hunt.
The final line, "bustling about can be seen," means their commotion is visible. It is a hypermetric line, and "miyu" (can be seen) reveals a viewpoint surveying the whole hunt from afar.
Author: Yamabe no Akahito
Source: Manyoshu
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