Tsurayuki has created a particularly complex wordplay in this poem, revolving around the correct series of actions for shooting a bow: one should lift it (oki), position one’s body (Fusi), draw the bow (yoru) and shoot it (i). Simultaneously, these words describe the lover during the night: getting up (oki), lying down (Fusi), at night (yoru) and sleep (i).

The mayumi or spindle tree (Euonymous sieboldianus) is a member of a family of approximately 170 shrub, climbers and small trees native to Asia, north America and Europe. In Japan, the wood of the mayumi is mainly used for the manufacture of tools and other implements.

A standard description for women’s weeping in Chinese poetry was ‘crimson tears’, so Tsurayuki is developing the image and applying it to his own tears here.