Hyakunin Isshu Oracle

No.29 凡河内躬恒「心あてに 折らばや折らむ 初霜の 置きまどはせる 白菊の花」

心あてに 折らばや折らむ 初霜の 置きまどはせる 白菊の花

凡河内躬恒

frost and white flowers, one color — I will guess, and cut

frost and white flowers, one color — I will guess, and cut

キーワードKeywords

First FrostWhite ChrysanthemumGuessingCamouflageSame White
Nature/Seasons Autumn

凡河内躬恒Ōshikōchi no Mitsune — No. 29 官人Official

One of the compilers of the Kokinshū, a technician on a par with Tsurayuki and fond of witty visual conceits.

こころあてに をらばやをらむ はつしもの おきまどはせる しらぎくのはな

Kokoro ate ni Oraba ya oran Hatsushimo no Oki madowaseru Shiragiku no hana

現代語訳Modern Japanese

コンセプトConcept

情景The Scene

First frost, and the white chrysanthemums have vanished into it — same white, same brightness, no edges. He decides to reach in and cut one by guesswork, knowing he may come back with a handful of frost.

日本の美意識Japanese Aesthetic

Yūgen (The Indistinct)

Two whites cancel each other and the subject disappears. Low contrast is not a failure of composition — it can be the composition, if you let the viewer do the finding.