天地の神を祈りて猟矢貫き
筑紫の島を指して行く我れは
筑紫の島を指して行く我れは
- Roma-ji
-
Ametsuchi no kami o inorite satsuya nuki Tsukushi no shima o sashite iku ware wa
- English Translation
-
To the gods of heaven
and of earth I have prayed,
and set my hunting arrows;
for the isle of Tsukushi
I am bound, and so I go
- Meaning
- Having prayed to the gods of heaven and earth and set my hunting arrows in my quiver, I head for the island of Tsukushi.
- Commentary
-
Book Twenty Frontier Guard Poems 4374
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "Poems of the frontier guards sent in rotation to the provinces of Tsukushi in the second month of Tenpyō Shōhō 7, year of the wood sheep."
Praying to the gods of heaven and earth and setting my arrows, I head for the isle of Tsukushi: the poem states a guard's departure bravely. It is the second poem from Shimotsuke, and like the preceding one it is by a squad leader, singing of setting out as a soldier without private feeling.
The author, Ōtabe no Aramimi, is recorded as a squad leader from Shimotsuke; nothing more is known of him.
The first line, "ametsuchi no," joins the gods of heaven and earth, showing the breadth of his prayer.
The second line, "kami o inorite," means praying to the gods for safety and victory.
The third line, "satsuya nuki," "setting hunting arrows in the quiver," shows him setting out armed.
The fourth line, "Tsukushi no shima o," treats Kyushu as an island, the guards' posting.
The closing line, "sashite iku ware wa," is hypermetric, and by inversion places "I" last, closing with resolve in the same form as the preceding poem.
- Author
- Ōtabe no Aramimi
- Source
- Manyoshu
- Prev Poem
-
Kyō yori wa kaerimi nakute ōkimi no shiko no mitate to idetatsu ware wa
- Next Poem
-
Matsu no ke no namitaru mireba iwabito no ware o miokuru to tatarishi mokoro