しら露はわきてもおかじをみなへし心からにや色のそむらむ
shiratsuyu wa wakite mo okaji ominaeshi kokoro kara ni ya iro no somuramu | Silver dewdrops Fall where they will, so Surely, ’tis the maidenflower’s Own heart that Stains her with such hues? |
Michinaga
Maidenflowers
Left
なびくとや人はみるらんをみなへしおもふかたにぞかぜもふきける
nabiku to ya hito wa miruran ominaeshi omou kata ni zo kaze mo fukikeru | ‘Are they trailing?’ Folk wonder at the sight of The maidenflowers, and As they thought The wind, too, was blowing… |
7
Right
おほかたののべなるよりはをみなへしねやのつまにてみるはまされり
ōkata no nobe naru yori wa ominaeshi neya no tsuma nite miru wa masareri | So wide are The plains, but I’d rather A maidenflower— My wife in the bedchamber: Seeing her is better far! |
8
やをとめのそでかとぞみるをみなへしきみをいはひてなではじめてき
yaotome no sode ka to zo miru ominaeshi kimi o iwaite nadehajimeteki | As eight sacred maidens’ Sleeves do they appear, The maidenflowers, Celebrating our Lord’s reign With a first gentle touch. |
49
うゑながらかつはたのまずをみなへしうつろふあきのほどしなければ
uenagara katsu wa tanomazu ominaeshi utsurou aki no hodo shi nakereba | I planted them, yet Still unreliable are The maidenflowers, for They fade and autumn Is nothing but brief… |
50
をみなへしなどかあきしもにほふらむはなのこころをひともしれとか
ominaeshi nadoka aki shimo ni niouramu hana no kokoro o hito mo shire to ka | O, maidenflower, Why is it that, of all, in autumn You would glow so bright? Of a fickle flower’s heart Folk to inform, perhaps… |
47
てをとらばひとやとがめむをみなへしにほへるのべにやどやからまし
te o toraba hito ya togamemu ominaeshi nioeru nobe ni yado ya karamashi | Should I put my hands on you, By folk would I be despised, O, maidenflower, so In the meadow where you shine Would I borrow lodging… |
48
をみなへしやまののくさとふりしかどさかゆくときもありけるものを
ominaeshi yamano no kusa to furishikado sakayuku toki mo arikeru mono o | The maidenflowers With the mountain meadow grasses Have grown old, yet A time to flourish Did they have once… |
45[1]
をみなへしさけるやまべのあきかぜはふくゆふかげをたれかかたらむ
ominaeshi sakeru yamabe no akikaze wa fuku yūkage o tare ka kataramu | A maidenflower Blooming in a mountain meadow, with The autumn wind’s Evening gusts revealed, but Who is there to tell the tale? |
46
[1] This poem is almost identical to poem 4 in Uda-in ominaeshi uta’awase.
ありへてもくちしはてねばをみなへしひとさかりゆくあきもありけり
arietemo kuchishihateneba ominaeshi hito sakariyuku aki mo arikeri | Long has she lingered there, yet Has not begun to wither, but The maidenflower Has folk pass her by, too, When autumn comes. |
43
おほよそになべてをらるなをみなへしのちうきものぞひとのこころは
ōyoso ni nabete oraru na ominaeshi nochi uki mono zo hito no kokoro wa | Perfunctorily, Carelessly, aren’t you plucked, O, maidenflower, And then a cruel thing, indeed, Is a man’s heart… |
44
ときのまもあきのいろをやをみなへしながきあだなにいはれはてなん
toki no ma mo aki no iro o ya ominaeshi nagaki adana ni iwarehatenan | For such a brief time In her autumn hues is A maidenflower, and yet Ever is she faithless Said to be… |
39
あきのののくさをみなへししらぬみははなのなにこそおどろかれぬれ
aki no no no kusa o mina heshi shiranu mi wa ana no na ni koso odorokarenure | Through all the autumn meadows’ Grasses have I passed, yet I know them not, so When I learned her name How surprised I was! |
40
をみなへしあきののをわけをりつればやどあれぬとてまつむしぞなく
ominaeshi aki no no o wake oritsureba yado arenu tote matsumushi zo naku | O, maidenflower, Through the autumn meadows did I press To pick you, so My home has gone to ruin where The pine crickets sing. |
Yasuki
35
むしのねになきまどはせるをみなへしをればたもとにきりのこりゐる
mushi no ne ni naki madowaseru ominaeshi oreba tamoto ni kiri nokori’iru | The insects’ cries With her sobs are confused, that Maidenflower, I pluck her, and within my sleeve Traces of the mists do linger. |
Amane
36