yamagatsu no kakio nagara ni utsushi uete itsu to naku mimu tokonatsu no hana
Even by a woodcutter’s Brushwood fence Should they be transplanted Always would I gaze upon Bedded pinks in bloom…
6
[i] This poem is included in Fubokushō (IX: 3460), attributed to Nakatsukasa, with the headnote ‘Poetry Match held by Junior Consort Yoshiko (Hōshi) in the Fifth Month, Tenryaku 10’. In some texts of the match, there is a minor variation in the wording of the final line, having iro (‘hues’), instead of kage (‘shapes’) as here.
yamagatsu no kakio ni sakeru nadeshiko no hana no kokoro o shiru hito no nasa
By the woodcutter’s Lattice fence has bloomed A pink— A flower’s heart: There’s no one can understand!
557
[i] Topic unknown. あなこひし今も見てしか山がつのかきほにさける山となでしこ ana koishi / ima mo miteshika / yamagatsu no / kakio ni sakeru / yamato nadeshiko ‘O, how sweet! / And how I long to see / The woodcutter’s / Lattice fence, where blooms / My darling Yamato pink!’ Anonymous (KKS XIV: 695)
