Karakoromo hana no tamoto ni nugikae yo ware koso haru no iro wa tachitsure - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

唐衣花の袂に脱ぎかへよ
我こそ春の色はたちつれ

Roma-ji: Karakoromo hana no tamoto ni nugikae yo ware koso haru no iro wa tachitsure
English Translation: Your fine Chinese robes,
change them now for flowered sleeves—
for it is I who
have cut the colors of spring
away from me forever.
Meaning: Change your robes now for sleeves of flowered color—it is I who have cut away the colors of spring.
Commentary: Book Sixteen Miscellaneous Poems I 1483

Headnote: "Presented with robes for the change of dress on the first day of the fourth month, after I had renounced the world, at the time when Jōtōmon'in was called Grand Empress Dowager."
This is the first poem of the sequence on summer. Michinaga sends it to his daughter Shōshi: change your robes for sleeves of flowered color, though it is I who have cut away the colors of spring. According to the headnote, it accompanied robes for the change of dress presented on the first day of the fourth month after the poet had taken the tonsure, when Jōtōmon'in was still called Grand Empress Dowager.
The author, "the Hōjōji Lay Priest, Former Regent and Chancellor," is Fujiwara no Michinaga. The son of Fujiwara no Kaneie, he became Regent and Grand Minister, and after taking the tonsure built Hōjōji.
"Jōtōmon'in" in the headnote is Michinaga's daughter Shōshi, who became empress of Emperor Ichijō and later Grand Empress Dowager. The change of dress was a court custom of changing clothing and furnishings to suit the season on the first day of the fourth and tenth months.
Jōtōmon'in's reply to this poem is placed as the next poem.

The first line, "karakoromo," refers to beautiful robes, here the robes presented for the change of dress.
The second line, "hana no tamoto ni," refers to sleeves of flowered color. At the summer change of dress, it still urges splendid attire.
The third line, "nugikae yo," is imperative: "change them." The poem breaks after the third line.
In the fourth line, "ware koso haru no," "koso" is a binding particle, closed by "tsure" in the last line. "The colors of spring" means splendid colors, and also the splendor of the world.
The last line, "iro wa tachitsure," closes the kakari-musubi of the particle "koso" with the perfective form "tsure." "Tachi" plays on "tatsu," to cut off, and "tatsu," to cut cloth, an associated word of robes. Contrasting himself, who has cut away bright colors by taking the tonsure, it shows a father's heart urging his daughter still to dress splendidly.
Author: Fujiwara no Michinaga
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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