Ominaeshi kusamura goto ni muretatsu wa tare matsumushi no koe ni mayou zo - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

女郎花草むらごとに群れ立つは
誰松虫の声に迷ふぞ

Roma-ji: Ominaeshi kusamura goto ni muretatsu wa tare matsumushi no koe ni mayou zo
English Translation: The maiden flowers
standing in throngs in every
clump of grass—
waiting for whom, the pine cricket's
voice has led them so astray
Meaning: The maiden flowers stand in throngs in every clump of grass—have they wandered out, lured by the voice of the pine cricket waiting for someone?
Commentary: Book Six Autumn Poems II 339

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet wonders whether the maiden flowers standing in throngs in every clump of grass have wandered out, lured by the voice of the pine cricket, which waits for someone. Likening the maiden flower to a woman and the pine cricket's voice to one who waits, it casts the flowers and insects of the autumn fields as lovers.
From 339 to 341, three anonymous poems on the maiden flower stand together.
The poet is listed as "anonymous," and the composer's name has not come down to us. The text gives the poet as "yomibito mo," which is treated here as "anonymous."

The first line, "Ominaeshi," means "the maiden flowers," likened to women.
The second line, "kusamura goto ni," means "in every clump of grass."
The third line, "muretatsu wa," means "standing in throngs."
The fourth line, "tare matsumushi no," means "of the pine cricket waiting for whom," with "matsu," pine, joined to "matsu," to wait. 259 of Book Five uses the same conceit in "tare matsumushi zo," and 346 of this book also pairs the maiden flower with the pine cricket.
In the last line, "zo" is a final particle answering the interrogative "tare," who: "is it that voice that leads them astray?"
Author: Unknown Poet
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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