Masurao no kokoro omohoyu ōkimi no mikoto no saki o kikeba tōtomi

大夫の心思ほゆ大君の
御言の幸を聞けば貴み

Roma-ji: Masurao no kokoro omohoyu ōkimi no mikoto no saki o kikeba tōtomi
English Translation: The heart of a true man
rises up within my breast,
for when I hear
our Sovereign's blessed words,
how precious they seem to me!
Meaning: The heart of a true warrior wells up in me, for when I hear the blessed words of our Sovereign, they seem so precious.
Commentary: Book Eighteen 4095

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem celebrating the imperial edict on the gold produced in Michinoku Province [with short poems]." "Three envoys."
The poet says that when he hears the blessed words of his Sovereign, they are so precious that the heart of a true warrior rises in him. Moved that Emperor Shōmu's edict rejoicing over the gold produced in Michinoku praised the loyalty of the Ōtomo and Saeki clans, he expresses his pride and resolve as a member of the Ōtomo.
Ōtomo no Yakamochi was the son of Ōtomo no Tabito, and from 746 he served as governor of Etchū. He is believed to have played a central role in compiling the Man'yōshū, and this book has the character of a poetic diary of his years in Etchū.
In 749, gold from Oda District in Michinoku was presented to the court and used for the Great Buddha of Tōdaiji. Emperor Shōmu's edict praised the loyalty of the Ōtomo and Saeki since their ancestors, and Yakamochi too was promoted. According to the left note, the long poem and its envoys were composed at the governor's residence in Etchū on the twelfth of the fifth month of the first year of Tenpyō Kanpō. The text notes variants for the fourth and last lines, "no" and "tōtokushi areba," but since they are not part of the poem itself they have been omitted, and the main text is followed.

First line, "masurao no": "masurao" means a brave and noble man, a word expressing the pride of the warrior clan of Ōtomo.
Second line, "kokoro omohoyu": the heart of a true man naturally rises up. The poem pauses after the second line.
Third line, "ōkimi no": Emperor Shōmu.
Fourth line, "mikoto no saki o": "mikoto" is the words of the edict, and "saki" means blessing, the gracious words praising the Ōtomo.
Last line, "kikeba tōtomi": "-mi" expresses cause, "because they are precious when I hear them." It takes up the closing lines of the long poem, "mikoto no saki no kikeba tōtomi," to form the envoy.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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