Tatsukayumi te ni torimochite asagari ni kimi wa tatashinu Tanakura no no ni

手束弓手に取り持ちて朝狩りに
君は立たしぬ棚倉の野に

Roma-ji: Tatsukayumi te ni torimochite asagari ni kimi wa tatashinu Tanakura no no ni
English Translation: His hand-grip bow
taking firmly in his hand,
for the morning hunt
my lord has set forth now
onto Tanakura Plain
Meaning: Taking his stout bow in hand, my lord has set out for the morning hunt on Tanakura Plain.
Commentary: Book Nineteen 4257

Headnote: "Three poems from a banquet at the house of the Major Controller of the Left, Ki no Ason Iimaro, on the twenty-second day of the tenth month"
An old poem recited at a banquet at the house of Ki no Iimaro, Major Controller of the Left, it depicts a noble lord setting out gallantly for a morning hunt on Tanakura Plain, a stout bow in hand.
The left note says, "The above poem was recited by Prince Funa, Minister of Ceremonial. A poem from the time of the Kuni capital [author unknown]," dating it to around 740 to 744, when Emperor Shōmu held court at Kuni; some take "kimi" to be Emperor Shōmu. Tanakura is near the Kuni capital, around present-day Kizugawa, Kyoto Prefecture. It shows that such old poems were performed at banquets Yakamochi attended after returning to the capital.

First line, "tatsukayumi" (a hand-grip bow), names a bow with a thick grip, placing the hunting weapon first.
Second line, "te ni torimochite" (taking it in hand), depicts the figure setting out to hunt.
Third line, "asagari ni" (for the morning hunt), evokes a fresh morning scene.
Fourth line, "kimi wa tatashinu" (my lord has set forth): "su" is honorific and "nu" marks completion; the poem pauses here.
Fifth line, "Tanakura no no ni" (to Tanakura Plain), gives the place last by inversion.
Source: Manyoshu
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