In the Jōkan period, there was a plum tree in front of the Ryōki Hall in the north-east of the Palace compound. Once, when the leaves on the branches thrust out on its western side had begun to turn, His Majesty’s waiting-gentlemen composed poetry upon it:
おなじ枝を分きて木の葉のうつろふは西こそ秋のはじめなりけれ
| onazi e wo wakite ko no Fa no uturoFu Fa nisi koso aki no Fazime narikere |
On the selfsame branch Are the leaves divided in Their turning: It is in the west, indeed, that Autumn Does begin, I see. |
Fujiwara no Kachion