Poem about Cherry Blossoms from Collection of Elegant Flowers (Reikashū), one of the Scented-Paper Fragments (Kōshi-gire)

Traditionally attributed to Kodai no Kimi Japanese

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 223

Written almost entirely in kana, the anonymous poem reads:

やまざくら　あくまでいろを　みつるかな
花ちるべくも　かぜふかぬ世に

We can enjoy the colors
of wild cherry trees
to our heart’s content,
in an era when no blustery winds
will scatter the blossoms.

—Trans. John T. Carpenter

Poem about Cherry Blossoms from Collection of Elegant Flowers (Reikashū), one of the Scented-Paper Fragments (Kōshi-gire), Traditionally attributed to Kodai no Kimi (Japanese, active late 10th–early 11th century), Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan

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Poem about Cherry Blossoms from Collection of Elegant Flowers (Reikashū), one of the Scented-Paper Fragments (Kōshi-gire), Traditionally attributed to Kodai no Kimi (Japanese, active late 10th–early 11th century), Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan
Poem about Cherry Blossoms from Collection of Elegant Flowers (Reikashū), one of the Scented-Paper Fragments (Kōshi-gire), Traditionally attributed to Kodai no Kimi (Japanese, active late 10th–early 11th century), Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan

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