Masurao to omoeru mono o tachi hakite Kaniwa no tai ni seri zo tsumikeru

大夫と思へるものを太刀佩きて
可尓波の田居に芹ぞ摘みける

Roma-ji: Masurao to omoeru mono o tachi hakite Kaniwa no tai ni seri zo tsumikeru
English Translation: A man stout and brave,
so I had believed you were,
with your sword girded on
out in Kaniwa's paddies
you were picking parsley, then!
Meaning: I took you for a stalwart man, and yet there you were, sword at your side, picking parsley in the paddies of Kaniwa!
Commentary: Book Twenty Miscellaneous Poems 4456

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "A poem sent by the envoy Prince Katsuragi from Yamashiro Province to Lady Satsu no Myōkan and others at the time of the land allotment in Tenpyō 1," followed by "A poem sent in reply by Lady Satsu no Myōkan."
I took you for a stalwart man, yet there you were, sword at your side, picking parsley in Kaniwa's fields! The poem playfully answers Prince Katsuragi's poem. The left note says the two poems were recited by the Minister of the Left, who was this Prince Katsuragi. It pokes fun at the comic pairing of a brave sword-bearing figure with parsley picking, teasing him with affection. It stands in this book as an old exchange passed on to the present.
The author, Satsu no Myōkan, was a lady-in-waiting who served the retired Empress Genshō, holding the rank of myōbu.

The first line, "masurao to," "as a stalwart man," refers to Prince Katsuragi.
The second line, "omoeru mono o," uses the concessive mono o: though I thought so.
The third line, "tachi hakite," "with a sword at your waist," shows his manly figure.
The fourth line, "Kaniwa no tai ni," names Kaniwa, a place in Yamashiro, and tai, "the paddies." It takes up "giving out fields" in the preceding poem.
The closing line, "seri zo tsumikeru," is resolved by zo with the attributive keru. Taking up the "parsley" of the preceding poem's close, it ends in jest: so you were picking parsley!
Author: Satsu no Myōkan
Source: Manyoshu
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