Ka o sashite uma to iu hito arikereba kamo o mo oshi to omou narubeshi - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

鹿を指して馬といふ人ありければ
かもをもをしと思ふなるべし

Roma-ji: Ka o sashite uma to iu hito arikereba kamo o mo oshi to omou narubeshi
English Translation: Since there was a man
who would point at a deer and
call the beast a horse,
you think a duck a mandarin,
and your rug too dear to lend.
Meaning: Since there was once a man who pointed at a deer and called it a horse, you too must be calling a duck a mandarin duck, that is, thinking your felt rug too precious to lend.
Commentary: Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems II 535

Headnote: "Sent to Yoshinobu to ask for the felt rug of his carriage"
The poet says that since there was a man who pointed at a deer and called it a horse, Yoshinobu too must be calling a duck a mandarin duck and grudging his felt rug. The headnote shows it was sent when he asked Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu to lend him the felt rug laid in an ox carriage. Drawing on the tale of Zhao Gao of Qin, who insisted a deer was a horse, and pivoting on "kamo," duck and felt rug, and "oshi," mandarin duck and "too dear," it playfully reproaches a friend slow to lend. Together with Yoshinobu's reply in the next poem, 536, it forms an exchange.
The author, Fujiwara no Nakafumi, was a son of Fujiwara no Kimikazu who served Emperor Reizei from his days as crown prince and held posts such as Vice-Governor of Kōzuke. He is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.
In the main text, the author's name, "Fujiwara no Nakafumi," is written straight after the end of the headnote.

First line, "ka o sashite," means "pointing at a deer," with "ka" an old word for deer. It draws on the tale of Zhao Gao.
Second line, "uma to iu hito," means "the man who called it a horse," pointing to Zhao Gao. The words deer and horse are carried into the fourth line of the next poem, 536, "shika ya uma to zo."
Third line, "arikereba," means "since there was," with "ba" after the perfective form expressing cause.
Fourth line, "kamo o mo oshi to," is a set of pivot words: "kamo" means a "duck" and a "felt rug," and "oshi" means a "mandarin duck" and "too dear." It layers calling a duck a mandarin duck with grudging the felt rug.
Final line, "omou narubeshi," means "you must think," with "naru" assertive and "beshi" conjectural.
Author: Fujiwara no Nakafumi
Source: Shui Wakashu
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