秋風の吹あげにたてる白菊は
花かあらぬか浪のよするか
花かあらぬか浪のよするか
- Roma-ji
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Akikaze no Fukiage ni tateru shiragiku wa
hana ka aranu ka nami no yosuru ka - English Translation
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raised by autumn winds
upon the shore of Fukiage, stand
these white chrysanthemums—
are they flowers, or could they be
the waves that gather on the shore?
- Meaning
- The white chrysanthemums standing on the wind-swept shore of Fukiage—are they flowers, or are they the waves breaking upon the shore?
- Commentary
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Book Five Autumn Poems (Part Two)
Composed at a chrysanthemum contest held during the Kanpyō era, in connection with chrysanthemums planted upon an artificial shore (suhama) made to resemble Fukiage Beach.
The poem plays on “fukiage,” meaning both “blown up by the autumn wind” and the place name Fukiage. The white chrysanthemums planted on the model shore resemble the white-crested waves washing upon the beach.
Fukiage Beach refers to the area near the mouth of the Kinokawa River in present-day Wakayama and is a well-known poetic place name.
- Author
- Sugawara no Michizane
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
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Ueshi toki hana machidō ni arishi kiku
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