Ikegami no rikijimai kamo shirasagi no hoko kui mochite tobi wataruramu

池神の力士舞かも白鷺の
桙啄ひ持ちて飛び渡るらむ

Roma-ji: Ikegami no rikijimai kamo shirasagi no hoko kui mochite tobi wataruramu
English Translation: Is this the strongman's
dance of the god of the pond?
A white heron flies
across with a halberd
gripped fast in its bill.
Meaning: Is it the strongman's dance of the pond god? A white heron flies across, gripping a halberd in its bill.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Poems with Tales of Origin and Miscellaneous Poems 3831

Headnote: "A poem on a white heron flying with a twig in its bill."
The poem likens a white heron flying with a twig in its beak to the strongman of gigaku masque dancing with a halberd. Its startling image of the twig as a halberd delights the banquet, and it closes the set of eight.
This is one of eight poems by Naga no Okimaro, playful banquet pieces composed on the spot by weaving in the names of things. The wit lies in fitting every object named in the title neatly into a single poem.
Naga no Okimaro was a court poet in the reigns of Empress Jitō and Emperor Monmu, bearing the title Imiki. He left poems composed on imperial outings and many impromptu verses weaving in the names of things.

First line, "Ikegami no," may mean "of the pond god" or be a place name.
Second line, "rikijimai kamo," means "is it the strongman's dance?" and the poem pauses here. The strongman's dance was a gigaku piece in which a strongman danced with a halberd.
Third line, "shirasagi no," means "a white heron."
Fourth line, "hoko kui mochite," means "holding a halberd in its bill," the twig seen as a halberd.
Final line, "tobi wataruramu," means "it seems to fly across." The present conjectural ramu reads the scene before the eyes and, echoing kamo in the second line, heightens the fun of the comparison.
Author: Naga no Okimaro
Source: Manyoshu
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