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 

おおしこうちのみつね

こころあてに

をらばやをらん

はつしもの

おきまどはせる

しらぎくのはな

Oshikochi no Mitsune

If I were to pluck one

It would be by chance alone,

As the white chrysanthemum

Covered by the first hoar-frost

Is eluding me.

Oshikochi no Mitsune (c. 898 - 922), was an early Heian administrator and waka poet of the Japanese court and belongs to the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets. With Tsurayuki (poem 35) he compiled the Kokinshu, and was a regular visitor at Kanesuke’s (poem 27) home.

作者略伝と語釈

Kunisada

Detail of Chrysanthemum screen

by Korin

The chrysanthemum is a national emblem of Japan. The shiragiku (white chrysanthemum) was brought to Japan in the 8th century and adopted as the imperial crest a few centuries later (hence the term Chrysanthemum Throne to denote the Japanese imperial dynasty). It was seen as a representation of the sun.

Unfortunately, a woodcut or drawing by Hokusai is not available for this poem.