Masurao no takamatoyama ni semetareba sato ni orikeru muzasabi zo kore

ますらをの高円山に迫めたれば
里に下り来るむざさびぞこれ

Roma-ji: Masurao no takamatoyama ni semetareba sato ni orikeru muzasabi zo kore
English Translation: Because the brave men
upon Mount Takamato
had driven it hard,
down into the village came
a flying squirrel, this one
Meaning: Because the brave men drove it hard on Mount Takamato, down to the village it came: this is a flying squirrel.
Commentary: Book Six Miscellaneous Poems 1028

Headnote: "A poem attached when, in the eleventh year, tsuchinoto-u, as the Emperor was hunting on the plain of Takamato, a small beast ran away into the midst of the village, happened to meet a brave man, and was caught alive, and this beast was then presented to the Emperor's lodging [the beast is commonly called muzasabi]"
This poem was meant to accompany the presentation of a catch to the Emperor: because the brave men drove it hard on Mount Takamato, it came down to the village, and this, Your Majesty, is a flying squirrel. According to the headnote, in Tenpyō 11 (739), when Emperor Shōmu was hunting on the plain of Takamato, a small beast escaped and ran into the village, where it happened to meet a brave man and was caught alive. The poem was attached when this beast was presented to the Emperor's lodging.
According to the left note, the poem was composed by Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue, but because the flying squirrel died before it could be presented, the presentation poem was withdrawn. It records a charming incident surrounding the offering of a hunter's catch. Mount Takamato lies to the east of the Heijō capital, and the plain of Takamato at its foot was a place where nobles went hunting and on excursions.
The poet, Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue, was the daughter of Ōtomo no Yasumaro and a half-sister of Ōtomo no Tabito. After Tabito's death she supported the clan as mistress of the Ōtomo household. She was the aunt of Ōtomo no Yakamochi, and when her daughter Sakanoue no Ōiratsume later became his wife, she became his mother-in-law as well.

The first line, "Because the brave men," corresponds to the "brave man" of the headnote and praises the achievement of those who joined the hunt.
The second line, "upon Mount Takamato," refers to the mountain east of the Heijō capital, the scene of the Emperor's hunt.
In the third line, "had driven it hard," "-tare" is a form of the perfective auxiliary "tari," and "-ba" marks an established condition. It gives the reason why the beast fled to the village.
The fourth line, "down into the village came," tells how it escaped from the mountain into the settlement.
The final line, "a flying squirrel, this one," names the beast, which the headnote says is "commonly called muzasabi." By placing "kore," "this," at the very end in inverted order, it vividly conveys the gesture of holding out the catch to be presented.
Author: Lady Ōtomo no Sakanoue
Source: Manyoshu
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