Kiku no hana taorite wa miji hatsushimo no okinagara koso iro masarikere

English Translation

Chrysanthemum flowers—
I will not pluck them to gaze on;
with the first frost
still lying upon them
their color is all the finer

Meaning

I will not pluck the chrysanthemums to look at them, for it is with the first frost still lying upon them that their color is at its finest.

Commentary

Book Six Winter Poems 622

Headnote: "When a chrysanthemum banquet was bestowed upon the Principal Handmaid Fujiwara no Mitsuko in the fourteenth year of Engi."
This is the twelfth poem of the frost-and-withering sequence. Since chrysanthemums are finest in color with the first frost still upon them, the speaker resolves not to pluck them. According to the headnote, it was composed when Emperor Daigo bestowed a chrysanthemum banquet upon the Principal Handmaid Fujiwara no Mitsuko in the fourteenth year of Engi.
The author, "Middle Counselor Kanesuke," is Fujiwara no Kanesuke. A son of Fujiwara no Toshimoto, he rose to Junior Third Rank and Middle Counselor and was called the Embankment Middle Counselor because his residence stood on the embankment of the Kamo River. He was the great-grandfather of Murasaki Shikibu and one of the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals.
The scene is the season of the first frost, and the place is the palace where the chrysanthemum banquet was held.
The direct occasion is the chrysanthemum banquet bestowed by Emperor Daigo upon the Principal Handmaid Fujiwara no Mitsuko in the fourteenth year of Engi. The "Principal Handmaid" was the head of the Office of Palace Attendants, and Fujiwara no Mitsuko was a daughter of the Palace Minister Fujiwara no Takafuji.
The second line of the main text reads "taorite wa mishi," which without voicing marks could be read either "mishi" or "miji"; following the sense of the lower verse, it is taken here as "miji," expressing negative intention.

The first line, "kiku no hana," refers to the chrysanthemums presented at the banquet.
The second line, "taorite wa miji," means "I will not pluck them to look at," with "ji" as an auxiliary of negative intention. The poem breaks after the second line.
The third line, "hatsushimo no," refers to the first frost of the year and modifies "oki," settling, in the fourth line.
The fourth line, "okinagara koso," means "precisely while it lies upon them," with the particle "koso" giving strong emphasis.
The last line, "iro masarikere," means "their color is finer," a kakari-musubi construction in which "koso" is answered by "kere," the perfective form of the auxiliary "keri." Resting on the taste of the time, which prized chrysanthemums whose color changed under frost, the poem holds that one should look at them with the frost still upon them rather than plucking them and brushing it away. Following the chrysanthemums glowing on the frosty fence in the preceding poem, the pairing of frost and chrysanthemums continues.

Author

Fujiwara no Kanesuke

Source

Shin Kokin Wakashu

Other