仏造るま朱足らずは水溜まる
池田の朝臣が鼻の上を掘れ
池田の朝臣が鼻の上を掘れ
- Roma-ji
-
Hotoke tsukuru masoho tarazu wa mizu tamaru Ikeda no aso ga hana no ue o hore
- English Translation
-
To make Buddhas red,
if there's not enough vermilion,
in the brimming pond
of Ikeda the courtier,
dig on top of his red nose!
- Meaning
- If you haven't enough vermilion to paint your Buddhas, dig it from the top of the nose of that courtier Ikeda, where water collects in the pond!
- Commentary
-
Book Sixteen Poems with Tales of Origin and Miscellaneous Poems 3841
Headnote: "A poem by Ōmiwa no Asomi Okimori mocking in return; one poem."
The poet retorts that if there is not enough vermilion to make Buddhas, one should dig it from the top of Ikeda's red nose. Likened to a hungry ghost in the preceding poem, Okimori hits back with another Buddhist term, the vermilion used to paint images.
It forms an exchange of mockery with the preceding poem, 3840. Where that poem called up temple ghosts, this one calls up vermilion for coloring Buddhas, answering within the same temple world.
Ōmiwa no Okimori was an official bearing the title Asomi, said to have been granted Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade, in the Tenpyō-hōji era.
First line, "hotoke tsukuru," means "to make Buddhas." Hypermetric at six syllables, it takes up the temple world of the preceding poem.
Second line, "masoho tarazu wa," means "if there's not enough vermilion." Masoho is cinnabar used as red pigment.
Third line, "mizu tamaru," means "where water pools," used like a pillow word for ike, "pond," to lead into Ikeda.
Fourth line, "Ikeda no aso ga," means "of courtier Ikeda." Aso is a familiar, slighting form of Asomi.
Final line, "hana no ue o hore," means "dig on top of his nose." Ending with a stinging imperative, it is the same last line with which poem 3843 also strikes back.
- Author
- Ōmiwa no Okimori
- Source
- Manyoshu
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