Wagimoko ga ie no kakitsu no sayuribana yuri to ieru wa ina to iu ni niru

我妹子が家の垣内のさ百合花
ゆりと言へるはいなと言ふに似る

Roma-ji: Wagimoko ga ie no kakitsu no sayuribana yuri to ieru wa ina to iu ni niru
English Translation: Inside the fences
at the house of my dear girl
the lilies bloom:
your saying "yuri, later"
is much the same as "no"
Meaning: Like the lilies blooming inside the fence of your house, your saying "yuri, later on" is much the same as saying "no."
Commentary: Book Eight Summer Love Poems 1503

Headnote: "A poem by Ki no Ason Toyokawa"
Drawing on the lilies blooming inside the fence of his beloved's house, the poet complains that her putting him off with "yuri," later, is as good as refusing him. It is a witty poem that plays on the flower's name, "yuri," and "yuri" meaning "later."
The author, Ki no Toyokawa, was a member of the Ki clan and an official of the Nara period.

The first line points to the girl he loves.
The second line means "inside the fence of her house."
In the third line, "sa" is a prefix, and the line names the lily; the first three lines form a preface that leads, through the same sound, to "yuri." The mood differs from 1500 of this book, where the little lily is a figure for secret love.
In the fourth line, "yuri" means "later, some other day," and is a pun on the "lily" of the third line.
The final line, "is much the same as saying no," lightly reproaches her evasions.
Author: Ki no Toyokawa
Source: Manyoshu
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