女郎花うしと見つつぞ行きすぐる
をとこ山にし立てりと思へば
をとこ山にし立てりと思へば
- Roma-ji
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Ominaeshi ushi to mitsutsu zo yukisuguru
Otokoyama ni shi tateri to omoeba - English Translation
-
Maidenflower there—
with distaste I pass it by,
going on my way;—
for it stands upon Mount Otoko,
so it seems to me indeed.
- Meaning
- Seeing the maidenflower, I pass it by with distaste, for it stands blooming on Mount Otoko.
- Commentary
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Book Four Autumn Poems (Part One)
Composed when the poet visited Bishop Henjō from Nara and saw maidenflowers on Mount Otoko.
The maidenflower (ominaeshi), often likened to a woman, is seen growing on “Mount Otoko” (Mount Man), and the poet finds this disagreeable. The poem plays on the contrast between the feminine flower and the masculine place name.
Mount Otoko is the mountain where Iwashimizu Hachiman Shrine stands and has long been well known.
“Ushi” means disagreeable or unpleasant.
- Author
- Furu no Imamichi
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Na ni medete oreru bakari zo ominaeshi
ware ochiniki to hito ni kataru na - Next Poem
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Aki no no ni yadori wa subeshi ominaeshi
na o mutsumajimi tabi naraku ni