妻こふる鹿ぞ鳴くなる女郎花
おのが住む野の花としらずや
おのが住む野の花としらずや
- Roma-ji
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Tsuma kouru shika zo naku naru ominaeshi
ono ga sumu no no hana to shirazu ya - English Translation
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The stag cries aloud,
seeking ever for his mate—
maidenflower, you,
do you not know that you grow
in the field where he abides?
- Meaning
- The stag cries out seeking his mate—maidenflower, do you not know that you are a flower growing in the very field where he dwells?
- Commentary
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Book Four Autumn Poems (Part One)
Composed and presented at the maidenflower contest held at the Suzaku-in.
From ancient times, bush clover has been paired with the stag as its “flower-wife,” and many such poems appear in the Man’yōshū. In this poem, although the maidenflower blooms near the stag, what he seeks is not the maidenflower but the bush clover.
The poem plays upon this traditional pairing, suggesting that the maidenflower does not understand its place beside the stag.
- Author
- Oshikochi no Mitsune
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Ta ga aki ni aranu mono yue ominaeshi
nazo iro ni idete madaki utsurou - Next Poem
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Ominaeshi fukisugite kuru akikaze wa
me ni wa mienedo ka koso shirukere