Narayama no konotegashiwa no futaomo ni ka ni mo kaku ni mo kobihito no tomo

奈良山の児手柏の両面に
かにもかくにも侫人の伴

Roma-ji: Narayama no konotegashiwa no futaomo ni ka ni mo kaku ni mo kobihito no tomo
English Translation: On Nara mountain
the oak of the child's-hand leaves
turns both faces round—
this way, that way, either way,
what a crowd of flatterers!
Meaning: Like the leaves of the konotegashiwa on Mount Nara, with two faces alike, they fawn this way and that—what a pack of flatterers!
Commentary: Book Sixteen Poems with Tales of Origin and Miscellaneous Poems 3836

Headnote: "A poem reviling flatterers; one poem."
Likening them to the konotegashiwa leaf, whose two sides look alike, the poem reviles flatterers who show a pleasant face to everyone. It sharply satirizes double-dealing through a familiar plant.
The left note records that the scholar Sena no Yukifumi, a gentleman of rank, composed this poem.
Sena no Yukifumi came from an immigrant clan of Koguryŏ descent, became Second Professor of the Classics, and was known for his learning. His Chinese poems appear in the anthology Kaifūsō.

First line, "Narayama no," names Mount Nara on the border of Yamato and Yamashiro.
Second line, "konotegashiwa no," names a tree whose leaves are hard to tell front from back; one view takes it as the oriental arborvitae.
Third line, "futaomo ni," means "with two faces." The first three lines form a preface leading into "ka ni mo kaku ni mo."
Fourth line, "ka ni mo kaku ni mo," means "this way and that," describing two-faced fawning.
Final line, "kobihito no tomo," means "you pack of flatterers." Ending on a noun of abuse, it overlays the two-faced leaf on the two-faced heart.
Author: Sena no Yukifumi
Source: Manyoshu
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