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English
Audio: NHK Creative Library
Read by LibriVox volunteer Larry Wilson.
Audio courtesy of LibriVox (Public Domain).
凡河内躬恒
心当てに
折らばや折らむ
初霜の
おきまどはせる
白菊の花
おきまとは
せるしらき
くのはな
こころあ
- Poem 29
- 心当てに
折らばや折らむ
初霜の
おきまどはせる 白菊の花
Author: Ōshikōchi no Mitsune (dates unknown)
Source: Kokin Wakashū, Autumn
- English Verse Translation
- It was a white chrysanthemum I came to take away; But, which are coloured, which are white,
I'm half afraid to say, So thick the frost to-day!
— William N. Porter, 1909
- Modern Translation
- Shall I pick it or not? The white chrysanthemum lies hidden beneath the first frost, and I cannot tell them apart.
- Commentary
- How this poem is read depends on the interpretation of "kokoro ate ni." Taken as "at a guess," it describes how the white chrysanthemums have become indistinguishable, blending into the first frost. Taken instead as "with great care," it expresses the poet's reluctance to pick a flower so beautiful.
- About the Poet
- Ōshikōchi no Mitsune held no high office, but he was renowned for his exceptional gift for descriptive nature poetry. He was regarded as one of the finest poets of his age, ranked alongside Ki no Tsurayuki, and was chosen as one of the compilers of the Kokin Wakashū.
- Ōshikōchi no Mitsune's Chart of the Heart
-
A chart and a modern-language reflection of the poet's inner feelings.
The Poet's Feelings (A Personal Interpretation)
Even reaching out gently,
I cannot touch the white chrysanthemum.I only want to keep this beauty
born of the first frost, just as it is.
- Poem Illustration
-
This image is based on an illustration from William N. Porter's A Hundred Verses from Old Japan, his 1909 English translation of the Hyakunin Isshu published in England, colorized and reworked using Adobe Firefly (generative AI).