Hanasusuki maneku wa saga to shirinagara todomaru mono wa kokoro narikeri - Senzai Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

花すすき招くはさがと知りながら
とどまるものは心なりけり

Roma-ji: Hanasusuki maneku wa saga to shirinagara todomaru mono wa kokoro narikeri
English Translation: The pampas plumes
beckon only by their nature,
this I know full well,
yet what lingers here at Saga
is this heart of mine
Meaning: I know well that the pampas plumes beckon only because it is their nature, yet what lingers on here in Saga is my own heart.
Commentary: Book Four Autumn Poems I 268

Headnote: "Composed on seeing the flowers of Sagano when visiting Hōrinji"
Composed on seeing the autumn flowers of the Saga plain when the poet visited Hōrinji at Saga. He knows that the pampas plumes beckon as they sway in the wind only because it is their nature, yet what lingers on in Sagano is his own heart. With "saga" serving both as the place name and as "nature," he conveys the charm of autumn at Sagano, a place hard to leave though no one has truly invited him.
The author, "Priest Dōmyō," is Dōmyō, son of Major Captain of the Right Fujiwara no Michitsuna, who became a Tendai monk and served as superintendent of Tennōji. He was known for his beautiful voice in chanting sutras, and his association with Izumi Shikibu is also recorded.
Hōrinji is a temple at Arashiyama in Saga. Following "kokoro zo tomaru" in 256 and "yado ni tomaru" in 257 of this book, this poem too tells of the heart held fast by the autumn fields.

First line, "hanasusuki": pampas grass in plume, its swaying plumes likened to a beckoning hand.
Second line, "maneku wa saga to": "saga" is a pivot word for the place name Saga and "saga," one's innate nature: "that their beckoning is their nature."
Third line, "shirinagara": "though I know it."
Fourth line, "todomaru mono wa": "what is held back." Like "kokoro zo tomaru" in 256 of this book, it speaks of the heart detained by the autumn fields.
Fifth line, "kokoro narikeri": "keri" expresses realization: knowing the beckoning to be mere nature, the poet finds that it is his own heart that stays.
Author: Dōmyō
Source: Senzai Wakashu
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