Na ni shi oeba shiite tanoman ominaeshi hana no kokoro no aki wa uku tomo - Gosen Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

名にし負へばしひて頼まん女郎花
花の心の秋は憂くとも

Roma-ji: Na ni shi oeba shiite tanoman ominaeshi hana no kokoro no aki wa uku tomo
English Translation: Since you bear the name,
I will trust in you by force,
O maiden flower,
though the heart within the flower
may turn cruel in the autumn
Meaning: Since you bear that name, maiden flower, I will force myself to trust you, even if your flower's heart turns cruel in autumn.
Commentary: Book Six Autumn Poems II 343

Headnote: "Topic unknown."
The poet says that since the maiden flower bears the name of woman, he will force himself to trust it, even if the flower's heart changes and turns cruel in autumn. Playing on the "woman" in the flower's name, it expresses a love that trusts on, knowing the beloved to be fickle.
342 and 343 of this book are two poems on the maiden flower by Ki no Tsurayuki, set side by side.
The poet, called "Tsurayuki," is Ki no Tsurayuki. A son of Ki no Mochiyuki, he was the leading compiler of the Kokin Wakashū and wrote its kana preface. He served as governor of Tosa among other posts, is known as the author of the Tosa Diary, and is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

In the first line, "shi" is an intensive particle and "oeba" means "since you bear it as a name," pointing to the "woman" in the maiden flower's name.
In the second line, "shiite" means "by force, against reason," and "n" is the auxiliary of intent "mu." The poem pauses here.
The third line, "ominaeshi," calls out, "O maiden flower."
The fourth line, "hana no kokoro no," means "the flower's heart," the same words as the second line of 276 in this book. Taking up 276, which sang of the fickleness of the flower's heart, this poem resolves to trust it all the same.
In the last line, "tomo" gives a hypothetical concession: "even if it is cruel in autumn." "Aki," autumn, echoes "aki," weariness, and the line stands in inversion with the second.
Author: Ki no Tsurayuki
Source: Gosen Wakashu
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