名にめでて折れる許りぞ女郎花
我おちにきと人にかたるな
我おちにきと人にかたるな
- Roma-ji
-
Na ni medete oreru bakari zo ominaeshi
ware ochiniki to hito ni kataru na - English Translation
-
Drawn by but the name,
I only plucked you, maiden-flower—
speak not, I implore,
tell no one that I have fallen
so low as to be thus ensnared.
- Meaning
- I plucked you only because I admired your name, maiden-flower; do not go telling others that I have fallen into such disgrace.
- Commentary
-
Book Four Autumn Poems (Part One)
The maidenflower (ominaeshi) is often likened to a woman. Since the poet, Henjō, was a monk, he playfully asks the flower not to spread word that he has been moved by a “woman” and plucked it.
An old note in the kana preface says, “Composed after falling from a horse in Sagano,” suggesting that he may have fallen while trying to pick the flower and is humorously asking it to keep that mishap secret.
The poem thus carries a light, self-conscious tone, as if the poet is disguising embarrassment with wit.
- Author
- Sojo Henjo
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Aki no no ni oku shiratsuyu wa tama nare ya
tsuranukikakuru kumo no itosuji - Next Poem
-
Ominaeshi ushi to mitsutsu zo yukisuguru
Otokoyama ni shi tateri to omoeba