Tsu no kuni no naniwa watari ni tsukuru ta wa ashi ka nae ka to e koso miwakane - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

津の国の難波わたりに作る田は
あしかなへかとえこそ見分かね

Roma-ji: Tsu no kuni no naniwa watari ni tsukuru ta wa ashi ka nae ka to e koso miwakane
English Translation: In the land of Tsu,
the rice fields that they till
around Naniwa—
whether reeds or rice seedlings,
I can't tell them apart at all.
Meaning: In the fields they till around Naniwa in the land of Tsu, I cannot tell whether they are reeds or rice seedlings.
Commentary: Book Seven Names of Things 418

Headnote: "Ashigane (three-legged cauldron)"
The poet says that in the fields tilled around Naniwa in the land of Tsu, he cannot tell whether he sees reeds or rice seedlings. Playfully singing of the fields of Naniwa, famed for its reeds, the poem hides the name "ashigane" given in the headnote in the run of sounds "ashi ka nae ka" in the fourth line. The headnote names the thing hidden in the poem.
The author, written as Sukemi, is Fujiwara no Sukemi. A son of Fujiwara no Hirotsune, he was a mid-Heian poet known as Tōroku. He excelled at poems hiding the names of things, and his personal collection is the Tōrokushū.

First line, "tsu no kuni no," means "of the land of Tsu."
Second line, "naniwa watari ni," means "around Naniwa." Following Naniwa harbor in 406 of this book, Naniwa is sung of.
Third line, "tsukuru ta wa," means "the fields they till."
Fourth line, "ashi ka nae ka to," means "whether reeds or seedlings," hiding the name "ashigane."
Final line, "e koso miwakane," means "I cannot tell them apart," with "e" paired with a negative to express impossibility and "koso" resolved by the perfective "ne."
Author: Fujiwara no Sukemi
Source: Shui Wakashu
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