Uchitsuke ni koshi to ya hana no iro o mimu oku shiratsuyu no somuru bakari o - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

うちつけにこしとや花の色を見む
置く白露の染むるばかりを

Roma-ji: Uchitsuke ni koshi to ya hana no iro o mimu oku shiratsuyu no somuru bakari o
English Translation: All of a sudden
will you think it deep in hue,
this flower's color?—
it is but the lying dew
that has dyed it, nothing more.
Meaning: Will you look at this flower's color and suddenly call it deep? It is only the white dew resting on it that has dyed it so.
Commentary: Book Ten Names of Things 444

Headnote: "Kenigoshi"
This poem asks whether one will suddenly see the flower's color as deep, when it is only the white dew that has dyed it. The title "kenigoshi" is hidden in "tsuke ni koshi" across the first and second lines. "Kenigoshi," written with the characters for "ox-leading seed," is thought to mean the seed of the morning glory, or the morning glory itself. The poem sees the depth of the flower's color as merely the dew's dyeing, based on the idea of the time that dew colors plants.
The poet, "Yatabe no Nazane," is Yatabe no Nazane. He appears to have been an official of the early Heian period, but the details of his career are not known.

First line "Uchitsuke ni" means "suddenly, all at once." The title begins with the "ke" of "tsuke ni."
Second line "koshi to ya hana no" means "as deep, the flower's." With the first line it hides the title "kenigoshi" in "ke ni koshi." "Ya" is an interrogative particle.
Third line "iro o mimu" closes in the attributive "mu" in answer to "ya," asking whether one will see the color so. The poem pauses here.
Fourth line "oku shiratsuyu no" means "the white dew lying on the flower."
Fifth line "somuru bakari o" means "though it merely dyes it," with "o" carrying a concessive sigh.
Author: Yatabe no Nazane
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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