Ki no kuni no mukashi satsuo no nariya mochi ka tori nabikeshi saka no ue ni zo aru

紀の国の昔弓雄の鳴り矢もち
鹿取り靡けし坂の上にぞある

Roma-ji: Ki no kuni no mukashi satsuo no nariya mochi ka tori nabikeshi saka no ue ni zo aru
English Translation: In the land of Kii
the hunter of long ago
with his whistling shafts
brought the deer down to his will—
here on that slope's top I stand.
Meaning: Here I stand on the very slope where, long ago in the land of Kii, a hunter brought down the deer with his whistling arrows.
Commentary: Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems 1678

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Thirteen poems from the time when the Retired Sovereign and the Late Sovereign made a progress to the province of Kii in the tenth month, winter, of the first year of Taihō, kanoto-ushi"
The speaker is moved to find himself standing on the slope where, according to local lore, a hunter of old brought down deer with whistling arrows. Recalling an ancient tale of the land, the poem praises the place of the journey.
This is the twelfth of the thirteen poems from the progress to Kii in the first year of Taihō (701). The location of the slope is unknown, but it is thought to be tied to a hunting legend of Kii.

The first line, "in the land of Kii," names the setting of the legend.
The second line, "the hunter of long ago," uses satsuo, a man who hunts with bow and arrow.
The third line, "with his whistling shafts," refers to nariya, arrows that sing as they fly.
The fourth line, "brought the deer down to his will," ends with the past auxiliary shi.
The final line, "here on that slope's top I stand," runs to nine syllables, beyond the norm. The particle zo and the attributive aru form a kakari-musubi, stating firmly the wonder of standing in a legendary place.
Source: Manyoshu
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