Though the crimson of
this one flower-dyed garment
is thin in color,
let no name be raised that would
wholly rot her name away

Meaning

Thin though the crimson of this once-dyed robe may be, let no talk arise that would rot her name away entirely.

Commentary

Part One: Suetsumuhana

　Having said what he did, Genji realized at once that he had gone too far, and went on to speak this poem half to himself. Thinking of her circumstances, he came back to a kind of care for her: it would be hard on her if his abandoning her set talk going. Watching, Myobu understood his consideration and still grieved privately on the lady's behalf.

　"A once-dyed crimson robe" is a garment given a single dipping, and its thinness of color stands for how slight the bond between them is. "Kutasu" is to ruin a reputation, and "to raise a name" is for talk to start. Setting "thin though it may be" against "rot away entirely" ties the shallowness of the tie to a wish to protect at least her good name. It catches Genji's difficult position: he makes her a figure of fun and still cannot leave her.

Author

Murasaki Shikibu

Source

Genji Monogatari

Other

Though the crimson of this one flower-dyed garment is thin in color, let no name be raised that would wholly rot her name away

Though the crimson of
this one flower-dyed garment
is thin in color,
let no name be raised that would
wholly rot her name away