Ōkata no aki ni kokoro wa yoseshikado hana miru toki wa izure to mo nashi - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

おほかたの秋に心は寄せしかど
花見る時はいづれともなし

Roma-ji: Ōkata no aki ni kokoro wa yoseshikado hana miru toki wa izure to mo nashi
English Translation: Ordinarily
it was autumn that I chose
to set my heart upon,
yet when I see the blossoms,
I cannot say which is best.
Meaning: Ordinarily my heart has leaned toward autumn, yet when I look upon the cherry blossoms, I cannot say whether spring or autumn is the finer.
Commentary: Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems II 510

Headnote: "When Prince Motoyoshi asked Toshiko of the Shōkyōden which was superior, spring or autumn, she said that autumn too was charming, and he then showed her a splendid cherry blossom and asked, 'And what of this?'"
The poet says that she has usually favored autumn, but when she looks at the cherry blossoms she cannot decide between spring and autumn. The headnote shows that Toshiko, asked by Prince Motoyoshi which season was superior, had answered that autumn too had its charm, and that this poem was her reply when he then showed her splendid cherry blossoms and asked, "And what of this?" It is a witty answer that keeps her preference for autumn while granting the beauty of the blossoms before her. Where the preceding poem, 509, could not decide because the heart shifts with each season, this poem cannot decide while looking at the blossoms, showing the same indecision in a concrete scene.
The author, Toshiko of the Shōkyōden, was a lady-in-waiting who served the Shōkyōden consort of Emperor Daigo. She is said to have been the wife of Fujiwara no Chikane, and her name appears in the Tales of Yamato. Prince Motoyoshi, who put the question to her, was the eldest son of Emperor Yōzei and was known as a lover of refinement.
The third line of the main text reads "yoseshikado," which does not match "yoseshikazo" in the reading line. Here the main text is followed.

First line, "ōkata no," means "ordinarily" or "in general," and modifies "aki" in the second line.
Second line, "aki ni kokoro wa," means "my heart toward autumn," with "wa" a binding particle singling it out. It takes up Toshiko's answer in the headnote that autumn too is charming.
Third line, "yoseshikado," means "though I had set it there," with "shika" the perfective form of the past auxiliary "ki" and "do" a concessive particle. From here the lower verse turns to her heart now, before the blossoms.
Fourth line, "hana miru toki wa," means "when I see the blossoms," taking up the cherry blossoms shown by Prince Motoyoshi. It shares the word "toki" with the fourth line of the preceding poem, 509, "toki ni tsuketsutsu."
Final line, "izure to mo nashi," means "I cannot say which is the better." It repeats the same phrase as the second line of 512, two poems later, "izure to mo naki."
Author: Shōkyōden no Toshiko
Source: Shui Wakashu
Prev Poem: Haru aki ni omoi midarete wakikanetsu toki ni tsuketsutsu utsuru kokoro wa
Next Poem: Haru wa tada hana no hitoe ni saku bakari mono no aware wa aki zo masareru