I have not yet seen
the root, and still I hold dear
this grass of the tie
on Musashi plain, where I
weary of parting the dew

Meaning

I have not yet seen the root, and still I hold dear this kindred grass of Musashi plain, where I grow weary of parting the dew.

Commentary

Part One: Wakamurasaki

　Genji brought the girl to the Nijo residence and installed her in the west wing. Teaching her writing and painting, he watched her grow used to him little by little. One day he wrote something about Musashi plain on a sheet of practice paper and added this poem beside it in a smaller hand. She read it and, as if to ask what it meant, wrote a poem of her own. Life together at Nijo begins, and the chapter closes on this scene of practice writing.

　"Ne" is the root of the gromwell, and "seeing the root" carries the sense of a union. Musashi plain was known for that plant, and hints at the tie with Fujitsubo. "Grass of the tie" is the grass connected to the gromwell—that is, Fujitsubo's niece. To a child he says that she is dear to him because of that kinship, and the theme of the purple tie that has run through the chapter is gathered here into a single shape.

Author

Murasaki Shikibu

Source

Genji Monogatari

Other

I have not yet seen the root, and still I hold dear this grass of the tie on Musashi plain, where I weary of parting the dew

I have not yet seen
the root, and still I hold dear
this grass of the tie
on Musashi plain, where I
weary of parting the dew