Okuyama no koke no koromo ni kurabe miyo izure ka tsuyu no okimasaru tomo - Shin Kokin Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

奥山の苔の衣にくらべ見よ
いづれか露の置きまさるとも

Roma-ji: Okuyama no koke no koromo ni kurabe miyo izure ka tsuyu no okimasaru tomo
English Translation: With the mossy robe
you wear in the mountain depths
compare mine and see—
which of the two lies heavier
with the gathering dew.
Meaning: Compare my sleeve with the mossy robe you wear deep in the mountains, and see which of them the dew lies on more heavily.
Commentary: Book Seventeen Miscellaneous Poems II 1626

Headnote: "When Lesser Captain Takamitsu went to Yokawa and shaved his head, on sending him priestly robes."
This is the first poem of an exchange on mossy robes. Sending priestly robes to his nephew who has taken the tonsure, the poet bids him compare the mossy robe of the deep mountains and see on which the dew lies more heavily. According to the headnote, it accompanied the robes sent when Lesser Captain Takamitsu took holy orders at Yokawa on Mount Hiei.
The author, "Gon-Dainagon Morouji," is Fujiwara no Morouji. A son of Regent Fujiwara no Tadahira, he rose to Provisional Major Counselor.
The "Lesser Captain Takamitsu" of the headnote is Takamitsu, son of Minister of the Right Fujiwara no Morosuke and the author's nephew. He took holy orders young at Yokawa and took the name Nyokaku.
Yokawa is one of the three precincts of Mount Hiei. The next poem, 1627, is Takamitsu's reply.

The first line, "okuyama no," refers to the depths of the mountain where Takamitsu now lives as a monk.
The second line, "koke no koromo ni," means "with the mossy robe." A "mossy robe" is the coarse garment of a monk or recluse.
The third line, "kurabe miyo," is an imperative, "compare and see," and the poem breaks here after the third line.
The fourth line, "izure ka tsuyu no," means "on which the dew." The dew stands for the tears on the sleeve of the author, grieving at the parting. "Ka" poses a question.
The last line, "okimasaru tomo," means "lies more heavily." Through inversion, what is to be compared is revealed at the close. Pitting his own tears against the abundant dew of the mountains, he conveys his regret at the nephew's leaving the world.
Author: Fujiwara no Morouji
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashu
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