Tag Archives: ominaeshi

Hon’in sadaijin-ke uta’awase 04

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

Teishi-in ominaeshi uta’awase 25

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

Teishi-in ominaeshi uta’awase 24

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

Teishi-in ominaeshi uta’awase 23

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.

Teishi-in ominaeshi uta’awase 22

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

Teishi-in ominaeshi uta’awase 20

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

Teishi-in ominaeshi uta’awase 18

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