Aranora ni sato wa aredomo ōkimi no shikimasu toki wa miyako to narinu

荒野らに里はあれども大君の
敷きます時は都となりぬ

Roma-ji: Aranora ni sato wa aredomo ōkimi no shikimasu toki wa miyako to narinu
English Translation: On the wild moorland
though a village stood alone,
when our Great Sovereign
comes to rule over it,
it has become a capital
Meaning: Though it was only a village on the wild moorland, now that our Great Sovereign reigns here, it has become a capital.
Commentary: Book Six Miscellaneous Poems 929

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Two envoys"
This poem praises how Naniwa, once no more than a village amid wild fields, has become a capital now that the sovereign rules there. By singing that the mere presence of the sovereign transforms a rustic place into a capital at once, it extols the majesty of the emperor.
The long poem immediately before (928) is titled "A poem composed by Kasa no Asomi Kanamura when the Emperor made a progress to the palace at Naniwa in the tenth month of winter," and was written while accompanying Emperor Shōmu on his progress to Naniwa in the tenth month of Jinki 2 (725). The long poem praises how, in the land of Naniwa, which people had thought a faded old village, a palace has been raised high as the Nagara palace once was, and a capital has come into being with the many officials lodged in huts on the plain of Ajifu.
The Nagara palace refers to Emperor Kōtoku's Naniwa Nagara Toyosaki palace. Taking up the long poem's "a capital has come into being," the envoy states succinctly the joy of seeing Naniwa, once the seat of the court, flourish again as a capital.
The poet, Kasa no Kanamura, was a court poet of the early Nara period who accompanied the sovereigns from Empress Genshō to Emperor Shōmu on their progresses and left many poems of praise. Together with Yamabe no Akahito, he is regarded as a representative poet of the age.

The two envoys present two faces of Naniwa: this poem praises it as the sovereign's capital with "it has become a capital," while the next poem, 930, sings of the sounds of the shore heard from the travellers' lodging with "at our lodging on the journey, the sound of oars."
The first line, "On the wild moorland," means in the desolate fields, with "-ra" as a suffix that adjusts the rhythm. It takes up the long poem's "a faded old village."
The second line, "though a village stood," is a concessive meaning "although there was a village," showing that the place had not been a capital and setting up a contrast with the lower verse.
The third line, "when our Great Sovereign," refers to the emperor and is the subject of "rules" that follows.
The fourth line, "comes to rule over it," means "when he governs it." "Shiku" means to hold and govern a land, and "masu" is an honorific auxiliary verb.
The final line, "it has become a capital," uses the perfective "nu" to state decisively that the transformation has been accomplished by the sovereign's rule.
Author: Kasa no Kanamura
Source: Manyoshu
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