Oshinabete kusaba no ue o fuku kaze ni mazu shitaoruru nobe no karukaya - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

おしなべて草葉の上を吹く風に
まづ下折るる野辺の刈萱

Roma-ji: Oshinabete kusaba no ue o fuku kaze ni mazu shitaoruru nobe no karukaya
English Translation: In the wind that blows
evenly across the tops
of all the grasses,
the first to bend from below
is the kaya of the fields
Meaning: In the wind that sweeps evenly over the tops of all the grasses, the first to bend and break from below is the kaya grass of the fields.
Commentary: Book Four Autumn Poems I 243

Headnote: "Topic unknown"
In the wind that sweeps evenly over the tops of the grasses, the first to bend and break from below, before any other, is the kaya grass of the fields. Catching how the kaya bends from below though the wind blows above, the poem portrays the fragile, easily tangled nature of this grass.
The author, "Kai of the Household of the Third Prince of Enkyū," was a lady-in-waiting in the household of Prince Sukehito, third son of Emperor Go-Sanjō, who was called the Emperor of Enkyū. Little is known of her life.
Poem 246 of this book asks why the kaya bends from below in an autumn wind that crosses its upper leaves, and this poem depicts a scene that seems to answer that question. The two poems pair with each other, sharing "shitaoru," bending from below, and "nobe no karukaya."

First line, "oshinabete": "evenly, all alike."
Second line, "kusaba no ue o": "over the tops of the grass leaves," showing that the wind blows above. It answers "uwaba o wataru" in 246 of this book.
Third line, "fuku kaze ni": "by the blowing wind."
Fourth line, "mazu shitaoruru": "shitaoru" means to bend and break from below, contrasting the wind above with the bending below. "Shitaore suran" in 246 of this book uses the same word.
Fifth line, "nobe no karukaya": ends on a noun, the same final line as 246 of this book. Following the preceding poem, 242, it again treats kaya grass.
Author: Kai of Prince Sukehito's Household
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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