朝な朝な籬の菊のうつろへば
露さへ色の変はりゆくかな
露さへ色の変はりゆくかな
- Roma-ji
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Asanaasana magaki no kiku no utsuroeba tsuyu sae iro no kawariyuku kana
- English Translation
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Morning by morning
as the chrysanthemums fade
by the brushwood fence,
even the dew in its color
changes as it goes
- Meaning
- Morning after morning, as the chrysanthemums by the fence change their color, even the dew upon them changes color too.
- Commentary
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Book Five Autumn Poems II 349
Headnote: "Composed as a poem on chrysanthemums"
Composed as a poem on chrysanthemums. Morning by morning the chrysanthemums by the fence change their color, the poet says, so even the dew upon them changes color too, reflecting the flowers. He sings of a fine observation: dew, colorless by nature, changing as it mirrors the shifting color of the chrysanthemums.
The author, "Yūsei Hōshi," was a son of Minamoto no Toshiyori and a younger brother of Shun'e.
The five poems from 346 through 350 of this book are poems on chrysanthemums, and 346, 348 and 350 all end with "shiragiku no hana," the white chrysanthemum.
First line, "asanaasana": "morning after morning," showing a change that advances day by day.
Second line, "magaki no kiku no": "magaki" is a coarse fence of bamboo or brushwood. Like "magaki ni nomi wa" in the preceding poem, 348, it sings of chrysanthemums by the fence.
Third line, "utsuroeba": "utsurou" is for a flower's color to change, also used of white chrysanthemums turning purple in the frost. It shares the word with "tsuki ni utsurou" in the next poem, 350.
Fourth line, "tsuyu sae iro no": the additive "sae," "not only the chrysanthemums but even the dew."
Fifth line, "kawariyuku kana": "kana" is exclamatory, voicing wonder that even the dew changes color.
- Author
- Yūsei
- Source
- Senzai Wakashu
- Prev Poem
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Yuki naraba magaki ni nomi wa tsumoraji to omoitoku ni zo shiragiku no hana
- Next Poem
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Saewataru hikari o shimo ni magaete ya tsuki ni utsurou shiragiku no hana