Asters and the Same

Round Seventeen

Left

あふことは片野ののべの蘭たれきてみよと露のおくらん

au koto wa katano no nobe no fujibakama tare kitemiyo to tsuyu no okuran

Our meeting, so hard: In the hillside meadows grow Violet asters— Who should to come to see them Amongst the fallen dew?

Nakafusa, Former Governor of Awaji
33

Right

色もかもよそへてぞみる蘭ねずりの衣馴れしかたみに

iro mo ka mo yosoete zo miru fujibakama nezuri no koromo nareshi katami ni

Both scent and hue Do I imagine seeing Among the violet asters, Of his patterned robe, So familiar, a reminder they are…

Hyōenokami
34

These poems, both Left and Right, appear to be of about the same quality, but while I am familiar with robes patterned with purple gromwell, I do wonder what it is that is patterning the robes here. Is the poet composing on asters imagining them to be gromwell? Even if that’s the case, the conception is not particularly apparent, so I have to say that the Left is better.