Kokoro-ate ni
Orabaya oramu
Hatsu shimo no
Oki madowaseru
Shira giku no hana.
MITSUNE ŌSHI-KŌCHI
It was a white chrysanthemum
I came to take away;
But, which are coloured, which are white,
I’m half afraid to say,
So thick the frost to-day!
Mitsune lived some time in the beginning of the tenth century, and was one of the compilers of Odes Ancient and Modern (the Kokinshiu). The illustration shows him with a boy in attendance, trying to make up his mind which flower he will pick.
