Miminashi no yama no kuchinashi eteshi kana omoi no iro no shitazome ni semu - Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

みみなしの山のくちなし得てしかな
おもひの色の下染めにせむ

Roma-ji: Miminashi no yama no kuchinashi eteshi kana omoi no iro no shitazome ni semu
English Translation: From Mount Miminashi,
Mount No-Ears, a gardenia,
No-Mouth, I would take,
and use it as the first dye
for the scarlet of my love
Meaning: I wish I could get gardenia, the "mouthless" flower, from Mount Miminashi, "Mount Earless," to use as the ground dye for the scarlet color of my love.
Commentary: Book Nineteen Miscellaneous Forms 1026

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
Drawing on the dyeing method of first staining cloth yellow with gardenia before dyeing it scarlet, the poet wittily suggests that a ground of "kuchinashi," mouthless, would let him keep his love unspoken. The wordplay of a "mouthless" plant from an "earless" mountain gives the poem its haikai quality.
The author is unknown and is recorded as "Anonymous."

First line, "Miminashi no," is a pivot word joining Mount Miminashi, one of the Three Mountains of Yamato, and "mimi nashi," without ears.
Second line, "yama no kuchinashi," is a pivot word joining gardenia and "kuchi nashi," without a mouth. Together with the first line it pairs things lacking ears and mouth.
Third line, "eteshi kana," expresses a wish with "teshi kana": how I would like to obtain it. The poem breaks here.
Fourth line, "omoi no iro no," is a pivot word hiding "hi," scarlet, in "omoi," love, likening love to a scarlet hue.
Fifth line, "shitazome ni semu," refers to a ground dye applied before the final color, reflecting the practice of dyeing yellow with gardenia before scarlet.
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Kokin Wakashu
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