Naniwae no ashi no hanage no majireru wa Tsu no kuni kai no koma ni ya aru ran - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

難波江の葦の花毛の交じれるは
津の国かひの駒にやあるらん

Roma-ji: Naniwae no ashi no hanage no majireru wa Tsu no kuni kai no koma ni ya aru ran
English Translation: Those mingled in the herd,
coated like the flowering reeds
of Naniwa's bay,
are they steeds from Kai, perhaps,
now raised in Tsu's broad pastures?
Meaning: The horses mingled in, their coats like the flowering reeds of Naniwa Bay: are they perhaps colts of Kai, raised here in the province of Tsu?
Commentary: Book Nine Miscellaneous Poems II 537

Headnote: "For a paper painting in the house of Lord Rengi, where a reed-flower roan stood among black horses"
The poet asks whether the horses, coated like reed flowers, mingled among the black horses are colts of Kai raised in the province of Tsu. The headnote shows it was written for a paper painting in the house of Lord Rengi, Fujiwara no Yoritada, showing a horse with a reed-flower coat among black horses. Through the pivot word "kai," the province of Kai and "raised," it links Naniwa Bay, famed for its reeds, with Kai, famed for its horses. From here to 541, poems on Naniwa and the province of Tsu continue.
The author, Priest Egyō, was a monk of the mid-Heian period said to have served as lecturer at the provincial temple of Harima. He is one of the Thirty-Six Later Immortal Poets and is known for his poem "yaemugura" in the Hyakunin Isshu.

First line, "Naniwae no," means "of the inlet of Naniwa" in Settsu Province, famed for its reeds. It shares the place name Naniwa with the first line of the next poem, 538, "Naniwagata."
Second line, "ashi no hanage no," means "with a coat like reed flowers," likening a horse's coat of white mingled with black or brown to the plumes of reeds. The word "ashi," reed, is passed on through the Naniwa poems, in the fourth line of the next poem, 538, "ashikaru waza o," and the second line of 540, "ashikarikeri to."
Third line, "majireru wa," means "those mingled in," pointing to the horses among the black horses of the headnote.
Fourth line, "Tsu no kuni kai no," is a pivot word: "kai" means the province of Kai, a home of fine horses, and "raised." It layers horses raised in Tsu with colts of Kai.
Final line, "koma ni ya aru ran," means "are they horses, perhaps," with the binding particle "ya" resolved by the attributive form of the conjectural auxiliary "ran."
Author: The Monk Egyo
Source: Shui Wakashu
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