Ho ni idete shino no osusuki maneku no ni tawarete tateru ominaeshi kana

ほに出でて篠の小薄招く野に
たはれて立てる女郎花かな

Roma-ji: Ho ni idete shino no osusuki maneku no ni tawarete tateru ominaeshi kana
English Translation: Coming into plume,
slender pampas of the reeds
beckon on the moor,
where in play and dalliance stands
the maidenflower, I see.
Meaning: On the moor where the slender pampas grass, putting out its plumes, beckons as if revealing its heart, the maidenflower stands as though flirting in reply.
Commentary: Autumn Poems 297

Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "When people composed ten autumn poems each"
This is the second poem in the set of ten autumn poems. On the moor where the slender pampas grass, putting out its plumes, sways in the wind as if beckoning and revealing its feelings, the maidenflower stands as if playfully answering that call. Likening the pampas to a man beckoning and the maidenflower to a flirtatious woman, the poem turns the autumn flowers of the moor into a scene of love.
Ho ni idete plays on ho, plume, putting out plumes, and ho, the surface, feelings showing outwardly. It echoes 273, which asked whom the pampas plumes beckon, and here a maidenflower answering the call appears. The closing ominaeshi kana is also the same as the last line of the maidenflower poems from 278.

First line, “ho ni idete”: ho is a pivot word joining ho, plume, and ho, the outward surface, meaning both putting out plumes and letting feelings show.
Second line, “shino no osusuki”: small pampas grass as slender as bamboo grass, with o as a prefix.
Third line, “maneku no ni”: likening the plumes swaying in the wind to beckoning, on the moor where it beckons.
Fourth line, “tawarete tateru”: tawaru means to flirt or behave coquettishly, likening the maidenflower to an alluring woman.
Fifth line, “ominaeshi kana”: closing with kana, showing the maidenflower playing in answer to the pampas grass's call.
Author: Saigyō
Source: Sankashu
Prev Poem: Tama ni nuku tsuyu wa koborete Musashino no kusa no ha musubu aki no hatsukaze
Next Poem: Hana o koso nobe no mono to wa mi ni kitsure kurureba mushi no ne o mo kikikeri