Ashikari ni Horie kogu naru kaji no oto wa ōmiyabito no mina kiku made ni

葦刈りに堀江漕ぐなる楫の音は
大宮人の皆聞くまでに

Roma-ji: Ashikari ni Horie kogu naru kaji no oto wa ōmiyabito no mina kiku made ni
English Translation: Out to cut the reeds
they row along the Horie,
and their oars' sound rings
so that all the courtiers
of the great palace can hear
Meaning: The sound of oars from boats rowing along the Horie to cut reeds rings out so loud that all the courtiers of the palace can hear it.
Commentary: Book Twenty Miscellaneous Poems 4459

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On the seventh day of the third month, a banquet at the house of Uma no Kunihito in Kure village, Kawachi Province; three poems."
The sound of oars from boats rowing the Horie to cut reeds rings so that all the courtiers can hear: the poem sings of the bustle of the Horie canal at Naniwa. The left note says it was read aloud by Ōtomo no Ikenushi, junior secretary of the Ministry of Ceremonial, and was a poem that Ōhara no Imaki, senior secretary of the Ministry of Military Affairs, had read elsewhere a few days before. Its original author is unclear; it was passed on by recitation at the banquet. Pairing the courtiers attending the excursion with the oar sounds of those at work on the Horie, it praises the prosperity of the Naniwa palace.
The author, Ōtomo no Ikenushi, a member of the Ōtomo clan, exchanged many poems with Yakamochi in Etchū. At this time he was junior secretary of the Ministry of Ceremonial.

The first line, "ashikari ni," "to cut reeds," shows the work of the Naniwa waterside.
The second line, "Horie kogu naru," uses naru, inference from sound: they seem to be rowing.
The third line, "kaji no oto wa," means "the sound of the oars."
The fourth line, "ōmiyabito no," refers to the courtiers attending at the Naniwa palace.
The closing line, "mina kiku made ni," "so that all can hear," praises the ring of the oars with exaggeration. The next three poems also sing of oar sounds and boats on the Horie.
Author: Ōtomo no Ikenushi
Source: Manyoshu
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