女郎花花の心のあだなれば
秋にのみこそ逢ひわたりけれ
秋にのみこそ逢ひわたりけれ
- Roma-ji
-
Ominaeshi hana no kokoro no ada nareba aki ni nomi koso aiwatarikere
- English Translation
-
O maiden flower,
the heart of the flower is
so fickle that
only ever in the autumn
has it met with anyone
- Meaning
- The maiden flower's heart is fickle, and so it is only in autumn that it has gone on meeting anyone.
- Commentary
-
Book Six Autumn Poems II 276
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "At the maiden flower contest of the same reign."
The poet says that because the maiden flower's heart is fickle, it has gone on meeting others only in autumn. The flower, which blooms only in autumn, is likened to a woman of changeable heart, and "aki," autumn, echoes "aki," weariness.
From 274 to 276, three poems from the same maiden flower contest stand together. This poem is the third.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us.
The first line, "Ominaeshi," means "the maiden flower," and all three poems from 274 on set the maiden flower in their first or third line.
The second line, "hana no kokoro no," means "the flower's heart," likening the maiden flower to a person. 343 of this book also sets "hana no kokoro no" in its fourth line, likewise singing of the maiden flower's heart.
In the third line, "ada" means "faithless, fickle," and "ba" gives the reason: "since it is fickle."
In the fourth line, "koso" is an emphatic particle, stressing "only in autumn." "Aki," autumn, echoes "aki," weariness. 344 of this book also sings of the maiden flower, which has no time for meeting but autumn.
In the last line, "watari" means "to go on doing": "it has gone on meeting." "Koso" in the fourth line and the perfective "kere" form a kakarimusubi pattern.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Gosen Wakashu
- Prev Poem
-
Aki no no no tsuyu ni okaruru ominaeshi harau hito nami nuretsutsu ya furu
- Next Poem
-
Samidare ni nurenishi sode ni itodoshiku tsuyu okisouru aki no wabishisa