Yamabuki no hanairo goromo nushi ya tare toedo kotaezu kuchinashi ni shite - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

山吹の花色衣主や誰
問へど答へずくちなしにして

Roma-ji: Yamabuki no hanairo goromo nushi ya tare toedo kotaezu kuchinashi ni shite
English Translation: Robe of yellow hue,
the color of the kerria,
who might your owner be?
I ask, and you give no answer,
dyed as you are with "no-mouth"
Meaning: O robe the color of kerria blossoms, I ask who your owner is, but you do not answer, for you were dyed with gardenia, the "mouthless" flower.
Commentary: Book Nineteen Miscellaneous Forms 1012

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Because kerria-yellow robes were dyed with gardenia fruit, the poet plays on "kuchinashi," gardenia, as "kuchi nashi," without a mouth: the robe will not name its owner because it has no mouth. Personifying the robe and landing the answer on the name of the dye is the wit that makes this a haikai poem.
The author is the monk Sosei. He was the son of Henjō, and his lay name is said to have been Yoshimine no Harutoshi. He lived at Urin'in and later became a provisional vinaya master. He is one of the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "Yamabuki no," gives the color of the kerria blossom and leads into "hanairo goromo."
Second line, "hanairo goromo," is a robe dyed the color of the flower, that is, yellow.
Third line, "nushi ya tare," uses the interrogative particle "ya" to ask the owner's name. The poem breaks after this line.
Fourth line, "toedo kotaezu," personifies the robe, which gives no reply when asked.
Fifth line, "kuchinashi ni shite," is a pivot word joining "kuchinashi," the gardenia used for yellow dye, and "kuchi nashi," having no mouth.
Author: Sosei Hoshi
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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