Nubatama no Hida no ōguro miru goto ni Kose no oguro shi omōyuru kamo

ぬばたまの斐太の大黒見るごとに
巨勢の小黒し思ほゆるかも

Roma-ji: Nubatama no Hida no ōguro miru goto ni Kose no oguro shi omōyuru kamo
English Translation: Dark as jet berries,
every time I look upon
Big Black of Hida,
Little Black of Kose
comes to mind at once.
Meaning: Every time I look at Big Black of Hida, I find myself thinking of Little Black of Kose.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Poems with Tales of Origin and Miscellaneous Poems 3844

Headnote: "A poem laughing at dark complexions; one poem."
Saying that every time he sees Big Black of Hida he thinks of Little Black of Kose, the poet teases two dark-skinned colleagues together. Nicknaming them Big Black and Little Black, he jokes that seeing one brings the other to mind.
According to the left note, there were the palace attendant Haji no Sukune Mimichi, called Shibimaro; the palace attendant Kose no Asomi Toyohito, called Mutsukimaro; and Kose no Hida no Asomi [his given name forgotten; a son of Lord Shimamura]. Toyohito and Hida both had dark complexions, so Mimichi made this poem to laugh at them, and Toyohito, hearing it, answered with a poem laughing back.
Haji no Mimichi was a palace attendant bearing the title Sukune, also called Shibimaro. The Haji clan was associated with making clay figures and earthenware and with funerals.

First line, "nubatama no," is a pillow word for "black." Here it leads into the "black" of Big Black, used on purpose in a poem mocking dark skin.
Second line, "Hida no ōguro," is the nickname given to Kose no Hida: a big, dark fellow.
Third line, "miru goto ni," means "every time I see him."
Fourth line, "Kose no oguro shi," is the nickname for Kose no Toyohito, pairing with Big Black in the second line. Shi is an emphatic particle.
Final line, "omōyuru kamo," means "comes to mind." Omōyu means coming to mind unbidden, and the exclamatory kamo closes the poem.
Author: Haji no Mimichi
Source: Manyoshu
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