Left – Rani

むしのねはまだおるとしもきこえぬをからにしきにもみゆる物かな　

mushi no ne wa mada oru to shimo kikoenu o karanishiki ni mo miyuru mono kana

The insects’ songs Yet weave and even though I hear them not As Cathay brocade Does all appear!

15a

むしのねはまだおるとしもきこえぬをからにしきにもみゆるのべかな

mushi no ne wa mada oru to shimo kikoenu o karanishiki ni mo miyuru nobe kana

The insects’ songs Yet weave and even though I hear them not As Cathay brocade Do the meadows appear!

15b

Right

きる人をのべやしるらんふぢばかまいたづらにのみつゆのおきつつ

kiru hito o nobe ya shiruran fujibakama itazura ni nomi tsuyu no okitsutsu

Folk wearing them Do the meadows know, perhaps? For upon these violet trousers In mischief alone Does the dew keep falling!

16

Rani is a generic term for ‘orchid’ but in waka it was usually equated with eupatorium (a type of aster), which was also called fujibakama, the literal meaning of which was ‘wisteria [coloured] trousers’.