女郎花多かる野辺に花すすき
いづれをさして招くなるらん
いづれをさして招くなるらん
- Roma-ji
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Ominaeshi ōkaru nobe ni hanasusuki izure o sashite maneku naruran
- English Translation
-
On the fields where so
many maidenflowers bloom,
the plumed pampas grass,
which of them is it you mean,
beckoning as you sway there?
- Meaning
- On the fields where so many maidenflowers bloom, which of them, I wonder, is the plumed pampas grass beckoning to?
- Commentary
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Book Three Autumn Poems 156
Headnote: "Topic unknown"
On a field where many maidenflowers bloom, the plumed pampas grass swaying in the wind seems to beckon, and the poet playfully wonders which maidenflower it is calling to. The personification, likening the maidenflowers to women and the plumed grass to someone beckoning, is delightful.
First line, "ominaeshi," is one of the seven flowers of autumn; because its name contains the character for woman, it was sung of as a woman. Poems on the maidenflower follow from here, and this poem begins the sequence.
Second line, "ōkaru nobe ni," means "on the fields where they are many."
Third line, "hanasusuki," is pampas grass in plume. Its plumes swaying in the wind were likened to someone beckoning.
Fourth line, "izure o sashite," means "aiming at which one."
Final line, "maneku naruran," means "why is it beckoning," with "ran" as an auxiliary of conjecture about cause. Poem 192 of this book closes with the same "maneku naruran," so poems on the beckoning pampas grass answer each other within the book.
- Author
- Unknown Poet
- Source
- Shui Wakashu
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Kimi kozu wa tare ni misemashi waga yado no kakine ni sakeru asagao no hana
- Next Poem
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Te mo tayuku ueshi mo shiruku ominaeshi iro yue kimi ga yadorinuru kana