In autumn fields now
I shall take my lodging here—
maidenflower blooms;
dear its very name to me,
though I am not on a journey.
- Meaning
-
Though I am not traveling, I shall lodge in the autumn fields, for the name of the maidenflower is dear to me.
- Commentary
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Book Four Autumn Poems (Part One)
Composed for a poetry contest at the residence of Prince Koretada.
Ordinarily, one would not stay overnight in the fields unless on a journey. Yet the poet, charmed by the name “omina” (maiden) in maidenflower, resolves to lodge among the autumn blossoms.
“Mutsumajimi” derives from “mutsumajii” (dear, affectionate) with the suffix “mi,” indicating reason.
- Author
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Fujiwara no Toshiyuki
- Source
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Kokin Wakashu
- Other
-
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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.
-
Maidenflower there—
with distaste I pass it by,
going on my way;—
for it stands upon Mount Otoko,
so it seems to me indeed.
-
If I should lodge there
in fields where maidenflowers
bloom in great numbers,
without cause, a fleeting name
would surely rise about me.
-
Maidenflowers sway
in autumn fields, bent by the wind—
so too her heart;—
to whom, I wonder, does she
give that single, wayward heart?