Azusayumi sue no harano ni togari suru kimi ga yuzuru no taemu to omoe ya

梓弓末のはら野に鳥狩する
君が弓弦の絶えむと思へや

Roma-ji: Azusayumi sue no harano ni togari suru kimi ga yuzuru no taemu to omoe ya
English Translation: As a catalpa bow,
on the moorland of Sue
hunting for the birds,
my lord's bowstring could it snap
do you think I could believe
Meaning: Like the bowstring of my lord as he hunts birds on the moorland of Sue, do you think I could ever believe that our bond would snap?
Commentary: Book Eleven Love Poems Ancient and Modern I 2638

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Expressing Feelings through Things"
Like the bowstring of the beloved hunting birds on the moorland of Sue, could their bond ever snap? The speaker does not think so for a moment, and the poem expresses trust in the firmness of their love. While depicting the brave figure of a man at the hunt, it vows a constant bond through the image of his bowstring.
This poem speaks through a bow, and with the next poem and the one after, three poems in a row concern bows. Following the three sword poems before it, poems on weapons stand side by side, an arrangement that speaks of love through a man's familiar implements.
The author is unknown. The anonymous poems of Book Eleven gather love poems by people whose names have not come down to us.

First line, "azusayumi": a pillow word attached to "sue" (tip), since the upper end of a bow is called its "sue." "Azusayumi" is a bow made of catalpa wood.
Second line, "sue no harano ni": "on the moorland of Sue." Sue is a place name, thought by some to be the area of Suemura in Izumi Province, around present-day Sakai in Osaka Prefecture.
Third line, "togari suru": "hunting birds," a hunt for birds using hawks and the like.
Fourth line, "kimi ga yuzuru no": "my lord's bowstring." The preface runs from the first line to here, the snapping of a bowstring leading into "tae" (break off). "Yuzuru" (bowstring) and "tayu" (snap) are associated words.
Fifth line, "taemu to omoe ya": "do you think I believe it will snap?" "Omoe ya," the realis form with the particle "ya," is a rhetorical question, firmly declaring that their bond will never be broken.
Source: Manyoshu
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