Samidare ni haru no miyabito kuru toki wa hototogisu o ya uguisu ni sen - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

五月雨に春の宮人来る時は
郭公をや鴬にせん

Roma-ji: Samidare ni haru no miyabito kuru toki wa hototogisu o ya uguisu ni sen
English Translation: In the rains of May,
when the people of the Spring
Palace come to call,
shall we take the little cuckoo
and call it the warbler instead?
Meaning: When the people of the Spring Palace come to call in the rains of May, shall we take the cuckoo and call it the warbler?
Commentary: Book Four Summer Poems 166

Headnote: "When the Retired Emperor Suzaku was crown prince, the guards of the crown prince went to the Imperial Library around the Fifth Month, drank wine and other things, and each composed poems."
Since the people serving the crown prince's palace, the Spring Palace, have come in the season of the early summer rains, the poet proposes calling the summer cuckoo the warbler, a bird of spring. Laying the season of spring over the "spring" of the Spring Palace, it is a witty poem to delight the banquet.
According to the headnote, when the Retired Emperor Suzaku was crown prince, the palace guards visited the Imperial Library around the Fifth Month, drank wine, and all composed poems. Welcoming the people of the Spring Palace, the poet playfully proposes to treat the summer bird as the bird of spring.
The poet, Ōkasuga no Moronori, was a member of the Ōkasuga clan whose career is not known in detail. He was one of those present at the banquet in the headnote.

The first line, "Samidare ni," means "in the season of the early summer rains," pointing to the time of the Fifth Month in the headnote.
The second line, "haru no miyabito," means the people serving the crown prince's palace, the guards of the headnote. The "spring" of the Spring Palace echoes the season, leading to the warbler in the lower verses.
The third line, "kuru toki wa," means "when they come."
In the fourth line, "ya" is an interrogative particle: "the cuckoo, shall we." It proposes to swap the summer cuckoo for the bird of spring.
The last line, "uguisu ni sen," means "shall we make it the warbler?" with "n," the attributive form of the volitional auxiliary "mu," completing the kakarimusubi pattern with "ya" in the fourth line. Its point lies in the wit of joining summer rains and the spring warbler in one poem.
Author: Ōkasuga no Moronori
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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