Katsumata no ike wa ware shiru hachisu nashi shika iu kimi ga hige naki gotoshi

勝間田の池は我れ知る蓮なし
しか言ふ君が鬚なきごとし

Roma-ji: Katsumata no ike wa ware shiru hachisu nashi shika iu kimi ga hige naki gotoshi
English Translation: Katsumata's pond—
that I know, and it has
no lotus at all;
just as you, who say it does,
have no beard upon your chin!
Meaning: I know the pond at Katsumata—there are no lotuses there! It's just like you, sir, saying so: as if you had no beard!
Commentary: Book Sixteen Poems with Tales of Origin and Miscellaneous Poems 3835

Headnote: "A poem presented to Prince Niitabe; one poem [details unknown]."
The poet turns the prince's words back on him: there are no lotuses in the Katsumata pond, just as he who says so has no beard. Addressing a prince with a fine beard, she playfully tells him not to speak of things that are not there.
According to the left note, Prince Niitabe went out within the capital, saw the Katsumata pond and was deeply moved. Returning, he told a lady that the water was brimming and the lotus flowers blazing, too lovely for words. The lady then made this playful poem and recited it.
The poet is a lady in Prince Niitabe's service; her name is not recorded. Prince Niitabe was a son of Emperor Tenmu who held posts such as chief of the five guards and the sword-bearing attendants.

First line, "Katsumata no," names the Katsumata pond in Yamato, said to have lain near Tōshōdaiji and Yakushiji in present-day Nara City.
Second line, "ike wa ware shiru," means "that pond I know."
Third line, "hachisu nashi," means "there are no lotuses," and the poem pauses here, flatly contradicting the prince.
Fourth line, "shika iu kimi ga," means "you who say so."
Final line, "hige naki gotoshi," means "it's as if you had no beard." Telling a bearded prince he has no beard, it echoes nashi in the third line and answers his tale with a jest about things that aren't there.
Source: Manyoshu
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