Yakatao no mashiro no taka o yado ni sue kakinade mitsutsu kawaku shi yoshi mo

矢形尾の真白の鷹を宿に据ゑ
掻き撫で見つつ飼はくしよしも

Roma-ji: Yakatao no mashiro no taka o yado ni sue kakinade mitsutsu kawaku shi yoshi mo
English Translation: With arrow-feather tail,
the hawk of purest white
I perch at my home,
and stroking it, gazing on it,
how good it is to keep it
Meaning: To perch at my home this pure white hawk with its arrow-feathered tail, and to stroke it and gaze at it as I keep it—what a joy it is.
Commentary: Book Nineteen 4155

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem on a white hawk, with a short poem, on the eighth day"
This envoy accompanies the long poem on a white hawk composed on the eighth day of the third month. Taking up the closing words of the long poem, "a hawk of pure white plumage," it sums up the pleasure of keeping the hawk at home and stroking it. Yakamochi's deep affection for his hawk, as one who loved falconry, comes through clearly.
In the long poem he sings that in the land of Koshi, far from the capital, there are few to talk with, so to console himself he goes hawking on Iwase Plain in autumn and keeps a hawk; this envoy can be said to distill the joy of that consolation.
The poet, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, was the son of the Grand Counselor Ōtomo no Tabito. From 746 he served as Governor of Etchū, living at the provincial headquarters in what is now Fushiki, Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture. He is regarded as the leading poet of the Nara period and is thought to have played a central role in compiling the Man'yōshū.

First line, "yakatao no" (with arrow-feather tail), refers to tail markings like the fletching of an arrow, capturing the beauty of the hawk's tail.
Second line, "mashiro no taka o" (the pure white hawk), takes up the closing "hawk of pure white plumage" of the long poem, showing the rarity and nobility of a white hawk.
Third line, "yado ni sue" (setting it at home): "suu" means to perch a hawk on a stand, describing it kept and cherished in the house.
Fourth line, "kakinade mitsutsu" (stroking it and gazing), piles action upon action, depicting the poet's affection for the hawk concretely.
Fifth line, "kawaku shi yoshi mo" (how good it is to keep it): "kawaku" means the act of keeping, "shi" is emphatic, and "mo" exclamatory, closing with a frank statement of the joy of keeping it.
Author: Otomo no Yakamochi
Source: Manyoshu
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