秋ならであうことかたき女郎花
天の河原においぬものゆゑ
天の河原においぬものゆゑ
- Roma-ji
-
Aki narade au koto kataki ominaeshi
ama no kawara ni oinu mono yue - English Translation
-
Maidenflower, you—
hard it is to meet but in
the autumn alone;—
though you do not grow, in truth,
upon Heaven’s river shore.
- Meaning
- Maidenflower, it is hard to meet you except in autumn, though you do not grow upon the banks of the River of Heaven.
- Commentary
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Book Four Autumn Poems (Part One)
Composed and presented at the maidenflower contest held at the Suzaku-in.
Since the maidenflower blooms only once in autumn, it evokes the lovers of the Tanabata legend, who meet only once a year. The poet playfully suggests that, although the flower does not grow upon the banks of the River of Heaven, it seems as though it should, given how rarely it may be encountered.
- Author
- Fujiwara no Sadakata
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Other
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- 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?
- Since autumn belongs not to any single one, maidenflower, why do you show your color so soon, fading even before its time?
- The stag cries aloud, seeking ever for his mate— maidenflower, you, do you not know that you grow in the field where he abides?