Ame ni aru ya Sasara no ono ni chigaya kari kaya karibaka ni uzura o tatsu mo

天にあるやささらの小野に茅草刈り
草刈りばかに鶉を立つも

Roma-ji: Ame ni aru ya Sasara no ono ni chigaya kari kaya karibaka ni uzura o tatsu mo
English Translation: In the sky above,
on the meadow of Sasara,
cutting thatching grass,
from the patch where the grass is cut,
up a quail goes flushing!
Meaning: On the meadow of Sasara up in the heavens, as I cut the thatching grass, a quail goes flushing up from the patch I'm mowing!
Commentary: Book Sixteen Poems with Tales of Origin and Miscellaneous Poems 3887

Headnote: "Three poems on fearsome things."
As the speaker cuts thatching grass on the meadow of Sasara said to lie in heaven, a quail bursts up from the mowing patch. Set in an otherworldly landscape, the sudden flight of a quail carries a sense of eeriness.
The three "poems on fearsome things" form a set on the terrors of other worlds—a field in heaven, a land beyond the sea, a soul-fire—and are placed at the end of Book Sixteen. They may have been recited at banquets to give the company a fright.
The poet is not recorded.

First line, "ame ni aru ya," means "that is in heaven." Ya is an interjectory particle for rhythm.
Second line, "Sasara no ono ni," means "on the meadow of Sasara," a field believed to lie in heaven.
Third line, "chigaya kari," means "cutting thatching grass."
Fourth line, "kaya karibaka ni," means "from the patch where grass is cut," repeating kari, "cut," from the third line to fix the scene of work.
Final line, "uzura o tatsu mo," means "a quail flies up." Mo is exclamatory, ending on the startle and eeriness of a sudden whir of wings on a silent meadow.
Source: Manyoshu
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