from the place it bloomed
now moved to another dwelling—
chrysanthemum flowers,
even in their very hue
have come to change as well
- Meaning
- Since it was moved from the place where it first began to bloom, the chrysanthemum has changed even in its color.
- Commentary
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Book Five Autumn Poems (Part Two)
A poem composed on transplanting chrysanthemums from another person’s residence into one’s own.
“Utsurou” means not only that the color of the flower changes, but also carries the sense of movement or transition. As chrysanthemums change color with the season, the poem may also suggest the deepening of autumn and the passage of time.
- Author
- Ki no Tsurayuki
- Source
- Kokin Wakashu
- Other
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- changing now its hue, this chrysanthemum of autumn— within one short year, twice it blooms and gives its scent, so I see it as such
- beyond the time of autumn there is yet another prime— chrysanthemum blooms; as their colors fade away, all the more their beauty grows
- on Mount Saho’s slopes the oak leaves, now turning gold, seem about to fall— so even through the night, see them, the moonlight shines and reveals
- in the deep mountains on rocky cliffs, the maple leaves seem about to fall— never once seeing the light of the sun that brightly shines